FDBusiness.com

More than 30 major companies have committed to taking part in the SmartLabel™  transparency initiative.

This move will enable consumers to have easy and instantaneous access to detailed ingredient information about thousands of products.

This transformative new program, created by manufacturers and retailers, enables consumers to get additional details about products by scanning a bar code or doing an online search to reach a landing page with information on ingredients and other attributes of a wide range of food, beverage, pet care, household and personal care products.

SmartLabel™ will provide consumers at the touch of finger all the information they want to know about what they are purchasing. It is designed so that consumers can easily have access to a wide variety of information but can hone in on a question they have on an ingredient or product in just one or two clicks.

“People want more information and are asking more questions about products they buy, use and consume, and SmartLabel™ puts detailed information right at their fingertips,” said Pamela G. Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. “SmartLabel™ is a modern technology that will change how people shop and will help them get answers to questions they have on the products they purchase when they want that information.”

SmartLabel™ makes it easier than ever for shoppers to find information about products they use and consume. SmartLabel™ will be available on an array of food, beverage, personal care, household and pet care products with information on hundreds of attributes covering thousands of products, including nutritional information, ingredients, allergens, third-party certifications, social compliance programs, usage instructions, advisories and safe handling instructions and company/brand information, along with other pertinent information about the product.

A recent survey by Benenson Strategy Group found that 75 percent of consumers said they would be likely to use SmartLabel™, showing that the program will meet a consumer desire for more product information.

Each individual product in SmartLabel™ will have a specific landing page containing detailed information from the manufacturer on ingredients and other product attributes.

Consumers will be able to find this detailed product information in several ways: by scanning a QR code on the package, using a web search such as through Google, Yahoo or Bing, going to a participating company’s web site, or eventually through an app. A number of retailers have said that they can help shoppers without smartphones via their customer service desk in stores.

Some companies are beginning to offer products using SmartLabel™ late this year and early in 2016, with projections of nearly 30,000 total products using SmartLabel™ by the end of 2017.  Early estimates indicate that within five years, more than 80 percent of the food, beverage, pet care, personal care and household products that consumers buy will be using SmartLabel™.

More than 30 of the nation’s major food, beverage and consumer products companies already are committed to using SmartLabel to provide detailed information about their products. These include ConAgra Foods, Hormel Foods, Campbell Soup Company, Knouse Foods, Land O’Lakes, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Hershey, J.M. Smucker Company, Kellogg Company, General Mills, McCormick & Company, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Bruce Foods Corporation, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Ferraro USA, Flowers Foods, Reily Foods Company, Rich Products Corporation, Sunny Delight Beverages Co., Tyson Foods, Inc., Ahold USA, Topco LLC, The WhiteWave Foods Company, Pharmavite LLC, Clorox, Colgate, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.