Polytag has implemented Digital Link QR codes into Ocado Retail’s reusable packaging, connecting consumers to instructions for refilling and returning their products.
In 2023, Polytag worked with Ocado to trial a ‘world-first’ nationwide digital deposit return scheme (DDRS). Consumers reportedly earned over 20,000 20p rewards over eight weeks by purchasing and recycling Ocado’s milk bottles through standard kerbside collection.
According to surveys conducted after the trial, 93% of users felt ‘positively’ about the concept of a DDRS being introduced in the UK.
Over sixty Ocado food, drink, and household product ranges now feature a Digital Link QR code. Consumers can scan these with a smartphone, at which point they are directed to a landing page to provide ‘bespoke’ and ‘specific’ information about products.
Ocado has used these landing pages to engage with and educate consumers on sourcing initiatives, recycling, food waste prevention, and other sustainability topics. Links, videos, and surveys can also be provided through the landing page technology.
It hopes that educating consumers abouts its refill scheme and return processes will help cut down on single-use plastic waste and promote reuse behaviours.
“We are proud to be the first major supermarket to pilot an online reusable packaging scheme,” said Laura Fernandez, senior Packaging and Sustainability manager at Ocado Retail. “Polytag’s QR codes give us the opportunity to explain how re-using can eliminate single-use packaging, and how easy and convenient the Ocado solution is, right to their doors.
“We continue to expand the number of Ocado Own Range products featuring Polytag QR codes, reflecting our growing focus on digital solutions to communicate key information and messaging to our customers.”
“Surpassing 60 products with Ocado Retail – including its new refillable options – is a step forward in making sustainable shopping more accessible,” continued Polytag CEO Alice Rackley. “By integrating our Digital Link QR codes, powered by GS1, we’re providing new ways to quantify the success of sustainability programmes and enabling the reuse process all through accurate tracing of packaging through the supply chain.
“Our world-first trial in 2023 was just the beginning of all of this. As the largest deployer of GS1-powered QR codes in the UK grocery market, Ocado has found our platform easy to integrate, enhancing their packaging design with endless digital possibilities. We’re beyond proud to support Ocado Retail in delivering both convenience and an impactful sustainability message.”
Anne Godfrey, CEO of GS1, added: “Improving the way we recycle is not merely a regulatory requirement, it is a vital component of our shared responsibility to protect the planet. By adopting GS1 standards and QR codes powered by GS1, businesses can lead the charge in transforming recycling into an efficient, user-friendly process that aligns with consumer needs.
“Our collaboration with Polytag illustrates how innovative thinking and powerful partnerships can lead to actionable solutions in the ongoing challenge of packaging waste. As we look ahead, the insights gained from this pilot will be instrumental in shaping the future of recycling, driving us closer to a more circular economy where sustainability is integral to consumer choices.”
This summer, Ocado piloted a reusable packaging scheme to deliver household essentials, including laundry products and food cupboard staples. The move was hoped to replace up to five single-use plastic packs per vessel and cut down on plastic waste in online grocery shopping.
With the company’s reuse products said to have reached nearly 30% of the sales share of their equivalent single-use products, it has extended its reusable packaging range into its liquid detergent and fabric conditioner products.
In other news, Polytag and the DDRS Alliance previously responded to further delays in a UK-based deposit return scheme by developing and adopting a DDRS. This also made use of GS1 QR codes and sought to ‘demonstrate the viability and convenience’ of a DDRS, as well as provide a ‘global blueprint’ for the UK and other major European countries.
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