There exists a strong desire by sustainability oriented companies to bring attention to their environmentally friendly products. However, as demonstrated by the wine industry, confusion or misinterpretation caused by an imperfect eco-label can have an undesired effect on a consumer’s perspective.
The SmartLabel initiative appears to be leading the way in a new wave of product differentiation through transparency. Its online FAQ describes SmartLabel as a tool that provides customers access to detailed product information including nutrition facts, ingredients, third-party certifications, social compliance programs, relevant advisories, and other pertinent information. SmartLabel’s digital information can be accessed through an online product search feature or by scanning a product’s QR code through the app.
SmartLabel can potentially help consumers make more informed choices about the products they are purchasing while simultaneously allowing companies to environmentally differentiate themselves from their conventional counterparts. Although one might assume that this tool is used for exposing unfortunate realities within the production side of a business, that is not necessarily the case. For example, through SmartLabel, Hellmanns was able to discover that a key ingredient in their mayonnaise was actually domestically sourced. This allowed customers to resonate with their product, a food item that is a staple to traditional American foods.
Unilever is the most notable company to begin implementation of SmartLabel with over 1,700 searchable products. One of the main benefits to using this platform is that it presents factual information in an unbiased manner. This can be viewed as a trust-building mechanism for consumers who are looking to learn more about a product but are skeptical for the possibilities of being deceived. This provides the customer with the ultimate decision as to whether or not that truly want spend their money on that product or not to.
Such a service can be useful to customers that want as much knowledge as possible about their food and products, but there’s also an accessibility and convenience factor. People who don’t have smartphones won’t have access to this information, and as for people who do have smartphones, many of them may find it a hassle to try to use the SmartLabels. As opposed to reading typical label printed onto the product, consumers must 1) pull out their phone 2) open or download the app (which adds additional hassle), and 3) scan the code on the product. Even then they must wait for the app to work and the information to load. All of this can making shopping more complicated and time-consuming. Ultimately, having SmartLabels can provide information more clearly to consumers, but may be a hit or miss with the type of consumers examining the product.
- Could this technological approach to bridging the transparency gap between the company and the consumer actually avoid eco-label confusion/misinterpretation indefinitely?
- Would customers be willing to use SmartLabel technology in the future? Why or why not?
- Do you see any flaws with the app? Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
Halibut 11: Mark Biedlingmaier, Jessica Li, Jamie Liu, Mark Nguyen, Erick Ocampo-Ramos
Unilever’s page on their smart labels: https://www.unileverusa.com/brands/smartlabel/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAi7XQBRDnARIsANeLIesURQ2jjAjqASc760sJaUMpjY55zrcR_tGx-_k0yNvq7bxoNfPj1fkaAulSEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Label Insight’s research on smart labelling: http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/news_home/Business_News/2016/11/How_Unilever_is_embracing_tran.aspx?ID=%7BB3C5DB43-CB5F-4002-A8A4-5A7BA786B1DC%7D&cck=1
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