Page 28 - Food&Drink March 2022

PACKAGING & LABELLING
Food packaging gets its smarts on
The smart packaging movement is gathering momentum as brand owners realise the power of on-pack digitisation to connect with consumers and gather valuable data along the supply chain. Jan Arreza takes a look at recent developments.
INTELLIGENT packaging is a relatively young sector, having emerged just over a decade ago. Early iterations of smart technologies were viewed with skepticism, and even considered a fad that might fade.
Only the boldest of brands (many of them Australian) experimented with the medium, seeing the potential for smart packaging to provide a portal to enhanced engagement with consumers, and a new level of product security, proof of provenance and supply chain traceability.
Today, smart packaging is hitting its straps.
Technology has become mainstream and affordable. The ubiquitous use of the
QR code and the emergence of numerous smartphone activated AR applications have opened doors to brands seeking to create interactive experiences via packaging.
On-pack security devices mean product authentication is accessible and product safety guaranteed, while traceability solutions are delivering an unprecedented level of useful data across the supply chain to all stakeholders.
The food and beverage industry is seeing a growing commitment by brand owners to develop packaging that
can communicate on multiple levels with the consumer,
and also provide digital touchpoints at every stage
of the product lifecycle. Here, we look at some of the
most interesting and innovative ‘smarts’ for food packaging brought to market by forward- thinking technology providers and brand owners.
IMPROVED TRACEABILITY
Just last year, Result Group participated in a Victorian government pilot trial to boost Australian table grape traceability for lucrative high-value export markets.
Aimed to support agricultural producers grow their export markets, build domestic capabilities, and manage supply chain risk, the pilot will continue to run throughout the 2022 grape harvest season. The goal is to build, diversify, and protect exports through the development of a producer- consumer traceability platform.
New traceability systems
implemented included labelling and integration with cool chain tracking in a bid to leverage the value of Australian export brands.
Result Group applied unique, serialised GS1 digital link- enabled QR code labels to export table grapes to enable the automated collection of data from farm and supply chain. This data can then be shared with consumers to authenticate the food’s precise origin. It also allows them to engage with the brand through an open platform smartphone scan.
With Australia’s fresh produce sector seeking to improve traceability, Woolworths Group looked at areas in the supply chain that needed improvement, and ways to resolve coding and labelling errors for fresh produce.
A cloud-based printing tool for improved fresh produce coding and labelling was released by Matthews, in partnership with Woolworths Group’s supply chain and
GS1 Australia.
Matthews’ IDSnet Cloud had
been specifically designed for fresh produce manufacturers supplying into Woolworths.
The retailer’s new tray and carton label format was supported along with SSCC pallet labelling.
On-pack track and trace technology in the form of smart labels is also being embraced by Australia’s meat producers.
They are a tool for the sector,
TOP: Swigr enables brands to link content to their packaging.
ABOVE: With its True Earth Collective range, Tamburlaine Wines created an AR experience using Laava’s Smart Fingerprint technology.
RIGHT: Eight at the Gates uses Cellr NFC stickers as digital wine labels, to deliver information directly to a consumer’s smartphone.
28 | Food&Drink business | March 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au