Part of the Polytag Group, the newly launched QR Squared service creates and downloads on-pack Digital Link QR codes for brands of any size, enabling them to convert their traditional barcodes into a modernized alternative.
With conventional barcodes gradually making way for Digital Product Passports, QR Squared is set to help brands update their barcodes into QR codes to be scanned at point-of-sale, or by consumers to access brand and product information.
The ‘fully compliant, approved, and secure’ platform is powered by GS1 standards and designed to be easy to use in a ‘simple’ three-step process. Brands can include expiry dates and serial numbers in their QR codes for batch-level inventory management, as well as customize, edit, and update landing pages for each project in real time – even after the product has been labelled.
Brands can then track the performance of their on-pack codes via an ‘easy-to-navigate’ analytics dashboard. By owning the domain within the QR code URL, they are set to track the time and location of consumer engagement with their codes and optimize their marketing initiatives accordingly.
“The launch of QR Squared marks a significant step forward in transforming how we track, trace and engage with packaging,” said Anne Godfrey, CEO of GS1 UK. “The GS1 UK team has worked closely with Polytag to ensure that the platform meets the highest requirements for GS1 standards, a collaboration that illustrates how innovative thinking and partnerships can lead to actionable solutions that deliver real value to businesses, consumers, and the planet alike.”
Alice Rackley, CEO of QR Squared and Polytag, adds: “To brands that want to elevate their on-pack labelling and leverage next-generation QR codes powered by GS1, QR Squared provides the best value solution in the market today. QR codes can operate at barcode level unlocking meaningful consumer communication opportunities to those businesses that want to get ahead of the curve.
“The team behind QR Squared are confident that the solution launching today – in partnership with GS1 – will transform many industries.”
QR Squared subscriptions start at £10 (€12.01) per month and do not require payments until the QR code is live on-pack.
In similar news, Think Tank previously combined physical packaging and digital back-end platforms into a single smart packaging service. It is set to help brands ‘seamlessly’ integrate SMART formats into their packaging ideas and strategies, embedding products with unique digital access codes to be tapped with a smartphone to access digital content via an online back-end hub.
We also hosted Güneri Tugcu, senior partner manager, Transparency at Amazon, and Jenny Stanley, managing director at Appetite Creative, on an episode of our Packaging Europe podcast to discuss the evolution of connected packaging, as well as its current setbacks.
Additionally, we spoke to Daniel Sabin Diaz, global senior solutions consultant at Systech, about the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and ongoing anticipation of Digital Product Passports. He discussed how these factors would affect data carrier printing, data exchange, and stakeholder responsibilities.
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