SharpEnd IoT agency empowers Yeo Valley’s consumer engagement with scalable QR code platform

09 Nov 2020 --- Yeo Valley Organic is unveiling connected packaging across all products as part of its new “Put Nature First” brand platform. The British family-owned dairy company is harnessing IoT agency SharpEnd’s connected data platform to evaluate consumer purchasing behavior and optimize brand-consumer engagement.

Consumers can use their smartphones to scan the “Moo-R” QR codes found on over 100 million products to access product information, brand content and promotions, linking to Yeo Valley’s “Yeokens” reward program.

“We aim to drive deeper engagement with consumers [and] share exactly what the brand is about,” Adrian Carne, Yeo Valley’s managing director, tells PackagingInsights.

Yeo Valley joins a growing SharpEnd clientele seeing “genuine results in terms of engagement, data capture and increased loyalty,” explains Cameron Worth, the connected consumer agency’s founder.

“We’re able to clearly demonstrate where the value has come from for previous clients and, through pilots, we can help brands start small and confidently scale. We’ve taken our time, but now it’s time to go big with our clients all around the world.”

Worth tells PackagingInsights SharpEnd is announcing another “huge rollout of connected packaging on over a billion items” for an FMCG business within weeks.

Scalable media asset
The Yeo Valley campaign is utilizing SharpEnd’s connected data and experience platform – called io.tt – to measure over 100 million product identities, build consumer profiles, track engagement across the portfolio, and ensure each digital experience can be enhanced as the long-term campaign evolves.Yeo Valley consumers can scan QR codes on 100 million products for information, brand content and promotions.

Moreover, the dynamic digital experiences adjust based on the product, customer location and time of day.

“The data from our ‘Put Nature First’ QR code will indicate the content people want to engage with – so we can improve our content plans,” continues Carne.

“It will also tell us where our consumer bought the product from down to a retailer level, enabling us to be more efficient with resources.”

Data protection
SharpEnd’s connective solutions are fully compliant with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and non-European local regulations, including the launch of 1 million connected wine bottles for Böen in California, US.

GDPR is an EU law on data protection and privacy regulating personal data transfers in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA), and areas outside the EU and EEA.

“We start with anonymized data and, through delivering valuable experiences and services, we allow people to identify themselves with data owned 100 percent by the brands,” explains Worth.

Recycled and recyclable packs
Yeo Valley is also pioneering the use of recycled PET (rPET) packaging. It worked with suppliers and invested in emerging technologies to introduce 100 percent rPET, easily-recyclable pots for its Super Thick kerned yogurt.

The company is aiming to make all its yogurt pots from recycled PET by summer 2021.

Moreover, Yeo Valley’s recyclable milk bottles now contain 50 percent recycled HDPE (rHDPE), and its recyclable 1 L bottles contain 30 percent recycled content.Yeo Valley aims to make all yogurt pots from recycled PET by 2021. Its 1 L milk bottles contain 30% recyclate.

The dairy producer’s Buttery and Spreadable is packed in a 100 percent recyclable tub and cover leaf, and it is working on recyclable packaging for block butter and cheese.

“For our new Little Yeos pouches, we partnered with Enval to provide a consumer-friendly recycling system,” notes Carne.

“There’s still more to do, especially in improving the UK’s recycling infrastructure and educating consumers, but we’re making good progress.”

“Our content will encourage everyone to put nature first, whether that’s buying British organic dairy more often, reducing food waste or encouraging wildlife into their garden. It’s the little things that everyone can do to make a difference and that’s what we’ll be highlighting in our connected packaging,” concludes Carne.

QR code uptakes
In 2019, leading global aseptic packaging and systems supplier SIG conducted around 3,000 interviews to understand better how consumers interact with QR codes. In Brazil and Europe, usage rates were similar with 7 percent and 8 percent of consumers, respectively, scanning QR codes several times a week.

In China, this figure rose to 50 percent, with consumers predominantly hoping to gain financial rewards. According to SIG, the disparity between China and Europe plus Brazil indicates QR codes are far more established in China and European and Brazilian brands could be doing more to promote the technology’s value to consumers.

QR codes are also demonstrating an ability to aid people with disabilities. An Italian start-up is developing a QR code prototype that narrates olive oil packaging labels to visually impaired consumers when scanned.

In the Australian wine industry, eBottli is combining QR codes, Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), Near-Field Communication (NFC) and image recognition technologies to combat the booming global counterfeit wine trade.

By Joshua Poole