Appetite Creative joins GS1

London-based Appetite Creative has joined the GS1 US Solution Partner Program to help brands design and build consumer experiences on GS1-standard QR codes as retailers prepare for Sunrise 2027.

The program brings together technology and service providers that help businesses implement GS1 Standards, which create a common foundation for barcodes and product data. As a partner, Appetite Creative will help brands deliver experiences from recipes and games to customer feedback and stock management through a single QR code that works for both the retailer and the consumer. It will also share its connected packaging research and case studies with the GS1 US community, starting with its upcoming sixth annual Global Connected Packaging Survey report.

‘The on-pack QR code is about to become one of the most valuable media spaces a brand owns, because it’s on every product and in every customer’s hand. GS1 standards make that code work at the checkout and across the supply chain. Our job is to make it worth scanning so brands can have direct conversations with customers, and now through the GS1 US Solution Partner Program they will have access to our expertise and experience. With Sunrise 2027, one code can do it all, for the checkout and for the consumer,’ said Jenny Stanley, managing director of Appetite Creative.

Sunrise 2027 is the retail industry’s goal for checkout scanners in the US and Europe to read 2D barcodes, such as QR codes, rather than relying on traditional linear barcodes. When a QR code on a pack follows GS1 Digital Link, it can be scanned at the checkout, carry product and traceability data, and open a brand experience on the shopper’s phone.

‘Appetite Creative brings a rare combination of creative expertise and deep knowledge of GS1 standards and this partnership builds on their existing work across the GS1 network. As brands move to 2D barcodes, partners who can show and benefit from the consumer value of GS1 Digital Link will help the whole industry adopt and evolve faster,’ added Thomas Francis, director of partnerships at GS1 US.

Appetite Creative builds web-based experiences that open when a shopper scans a code on pack, with no app download needed. It has delivered campaigns for brands including Tetra Pak, Danone, Pepsi and Coca-Cola across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. Its recent connected packaging campaign for Danone’s Alpro achieved a 14 percent scan rate, compared with around 0.1 percent for traditional digital ads, with visitors spending more than four minutes on average in the experience.