Untwine supports reusable packaging with digital product label

Untwine is a sustainable packaging company focused on wine. While creating a reusable wine bottle, it noticed that companies were reluctant to use a wine bottle that they couldn’t add their own branding to. Untwine's research also showed that the main barriers to consumers adopting reusable packaging were convenience and trust – they wanted to be able to read information on food packaging, like expiry dates, in the store and once they had taken it home.

Untwine’s solution, ZeroTag, is a digital product label that can be attached to any reusable container, combined with an app, that digitises food information. The ZeroTag system is perfect for small to medium businesses, especially the refillable grocery market. The system increases customer satisfaction by letting people engage with the food and brands they are buying while still allowing them to use refillable containers.

This reusable-packaging solution received a grant of $25,900 from Sustainability Victoria through the Circular Economy Reuse Pilots Fund.

What it means for the business

Zero-Tag uses a QR code to digitise food information. These QR codes are applied to stickers that are attached to reusable containers. At bulk food stores and shops with refillable options, shoppers use the ZeroTag app to scan a product’s information to learn more about what they are buying. They then fill their reusable container and scan the sticker on it to transfer across the product information. All stickers are dishwasher safe.

The program relies on refill stores being compatible with the ZeroTag system, and for this pilot only the retail QR codes (with product information), not the labels that can be attached to reusable containers, were tested.

Watch ZeroTag to find out more about how it works.

Engagement

A marketing campaign promoted the product. It involved reusable carry bags, videos, pop-up events, stickers, and social media content. Because this is a novel concept, ongoing promotion and education will be crucial to ensure continued adoption and engagement.

What it means for the customer

This pilot only used the QR codes on products in the pilot’s participating stores: Gram Sustainable, Grania, Into Coffee and Glou. Although the plan is to have stickers that consumers can buy and apply at home and then use in various refillable shopping settings, in this instance the public engaged with these labels by scanning them in-store to learn more about products. They could also swipe to browse products. The smart labels or QR stickers on containers were tested internally with a closed group of 10 people using a test app.

The app notifies users when products are nearing their expiry date. Product information is saved in a digital pantry, making it easy for users to view groceries and plan future shopping. The ZeroTag smart labels can also show consumers by whom and how their food is produced. The app can prevent food waste with its expiry date notifications.

During the pilot, the team visited Gram Sustainable on its Members' Day and collected feedback from customers. One of the responses they received was: 'It seems easy to use!' Gram staff said the scannable digital labels were especially useful during busy hours as they helped customers access full product info at their convenience.

Challenges

Creating reusable packaging that conveys timely information about food involves many different stakeholders along the supply chain. The ZeroTag team found that it needed to spend a significant amount of time in the research, development, and engagement stage before launching the stickers.

Reusable packaging requirements are varied. Consider size, the way they are used, labelling regulations, and logistics. For this pilot involving the small, closed-group using the test app, only containers that could be bought at the refillable market were used because they were the easiest to adopt at this stage. The pilot showed that the user experience, containers, retail spaces, and even the information for each product, are all different for different foods and industries. And this is a challenge that will need to be figured out in the future.

Consumer education was very challenging because the refill itself is currently niche.

Impact

After implementing the in-store labels at 3 bulk food stores, one zero-waste café, and one refillable wine store, the pilot resulted in more than 1,500 product scans. Refillable beverages were the main focus.

ZeroTag saved retailers and customers time. Retailers who took part in the pilot usually spend 3 to 5 minutes explaining product details to customers. Digitising product labels means that customers can scan labels and read information about the product themselves, allowing retailers to serve more people.

Of the 4 retail stores, Gram continued to use the in-store communication parts of ZeroTag, and it requested a retailer interface for the system. They noticed a spike in usage in October and continued use in November.

What's next?

Because information about food has so much commercial potential, ZeroTag and its related concepts are promising areas to continue to research and develop.

Untwine is now talking to one of the largest refillable wine retailers in Australia, Rewine, and 3 other reusable packaging companies to discuss implementing the ZeroTag system.

A reuse system should work across multiple products, retailers and brands in order for it to scale. Not only would that expand the number of businesses that can take part in reuse, it would also make the logistics of reuse more efficient, and the experience for consumers more convenient.

The value of an interactive label for reusable packaging is that it enables this possibility. To truly observe the efficiency and benefits of this technology, more elements of the system need to be built to allow for multiple uses of the same container across different retail contexts.

The next phase of ZeroTag’s plan is to offer an interactive labelling system for reusable containers at home, in ways people already use reusables.