The future is scannable. How coding is changing our packs.
Written by Georgia Taylor, Chilli's Senior Account Director for FMCG brands, with 13 years of marketing experience.
Recently, Tesco became the first UK supermarket to transition an entire live product range in its own-label core sausages; away from traditional linear barcodes to QR codes. While this felt like a minor tweak to the average shopper, it might indeed signal the beginning of the end for the humble barcode.
Enter project Sunrise 2027. By next year a large number of systems will be fully optimised to scan 2D barcodes at the till.
The classic black & white lines that have occupied packaging for 50 years are officially on notice.
For FMCG brands, this is not just a compliance update. It is a fundamental shift in packaging and consumer interaction. QR codes have been around for years, we have experimented with them (with varied levels of success) from a brand building point of view, but now there will be an operational necessity to switch and embrace them fully.
The cost of this is not insignificant to brands, so if businesses are considering or have been putting off any kind of redesign then now would be the time to act and roll it all into one.
Why this is happening
Supermarkets are pushing this transition because linear barcodes are effectively mute; they only state what a product is. Next-generation QR codes utilise the GS1 Digital Link standard. Put simply, this embeds the info into a web-friendly URL, allowing a single code to hold dynamic data like batch numbers, serial numbers, and expiry dates.
For retailers, the operational advantages are massive:
- Waste Reduction: Tills can automatically flag or offer a discount on items nearing their expiry date, drastically cutting down on food waste.
- Laser-Targeted Recalls: If a batch is compromised, retailers can isolate the exact lot number at the checkout, blocking the sale of affected items instantly without having to strip entire shelves of safe stock.
- Supply Chain Transparency: Unprecedented visibility from factory floor to shelf edge.
Is there a benefit for brand owners?
Historically, QR codes were an aesthetic nightmare for agencies and brand managers alike. They were an awkward, bolted-on marketing afterthought that sat next to the mandatory barcode, eating up precious space on pack. Now, the exact same QR code scanned by the cashier at the till can be scanned by a consumer on their smartphone.
By consolidating the transactional barcode and the promotional QR code into one sleek asset, you reclaim precious visual real estate on your pack.
More importantly, you turn your physical packaging into a portal for owned first-party data and brand storytelling. When a consumer scans your product in the aisle or at the kitchen table, you control the destination. Not least for…
- Transparency & Trust: You can instantly serve up carbon footprint metrics, allergen warnings, or farm-to-fork traceability.
- Value-Add Engagement: Content, such as mid-week recipe inspiration based on what they just bought, or loyalty points
- The Digital Product Passport: Meet looming regulatory requirements around sustainability and recycling instructions without crowding your back-of-pack typography.
Our agency view
If your brand has been sitting on a backlog of packaging updates, waiting for the right time to refresh your visual identity, this change has just given you a deadline.
Attempting to awkwardly shoehorn a new QR code onto an outdated packaging layout is a recipe for visual clutter. It compromises your brand equity, disrupts the hierarchy of your on-pack messaging, and signals to the consumer that you are reacting to technology rather than mastering it.
Instead of treating this as a painful compliance box to check, forward-thinking brand owners must view it as a clear opportunity to develop. If you needed convincing, here are the ways to really take ownership of the situation
1. Own the Visual Identity and packaging space
Your pack is your brand, your biggest opportunity to communicate, often daily, with the end user. A complete packaging refresh allows you to redesign the layout from the ground up. You can seamlessly integrate the new QR code into your brand aesthetic—choosing optimal placement, adjusting surrounding negative space, and ensuring the code feels organic to the design rather than slapped on.
2. Design the Digital Experience in tandem with the Physical
An agency’s job isn’t just to place the code; it’s to design the world behind the code.
A packaging redesign in the era of QR codes means co-creating the digital aspect, the user journey, and the interactive elements that the consumer experiences the moment they scan. At Chilli we work alongside the IMA digital experience team to make this happen. If your design agency isn’t connected to the digital team we strongly advise you to rectify this - the physical pack and the digital connection should feel like two sides of the same coin.
3. Consolidate the costs
Changing printing plates, updating files, and gaining internal stakeholder sign-offs are costly and time-consuming. Doing it for a tech compliance update and later for a brand refresh is a waste of resources. Combining a structural code change with a visual brand evolution allows you to maximize your budget and launch a single, future-proofed impact into the market.
In summary
The linear barcode is becoming a relic of the 1970s. QR codes will be the language of retail in the future. Supermarkets are paving the way & the high street will follow.
Do not let your brand get caught, , scrambling to patch a piece of tech onto an old design. Embrace the transition. Let’s use this mandatory structural shift to rethink your typography, elevate your shelf-presence, and turn your packaging into the most powerful digital touchpoint your brand has ever owned.
The future is scannable. Let's design it beautifully.