Switching it up: QR codes to replace UPC codes

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Switching it up: QR codes to replace UPC codes

17 Jan 2025

Mari Rydings

Mari Rydings is a versatile content creator, editor and marketer with experience developing dynamic, results-driven materials for B2B and B2C audiences. As the editorial director for Avant Food Media, she leads the day-to-day editorial operations for the company’s print and digital magazines, newsletters and social media platforms. Outside of work, she loves reading, hiking, putting together jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her husband and their twin daughters.

KANSAS CITY, MO — The Universal Product Code (UPC) hit a major milestone this year … 50 years of service. Global commerce changed forever when, on June 26, 1974, a cashier at Marsh Supermarket in Troy, OH, scanned the very first UPC-stamped item: a multi-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

For five decades, UPC bar codes, which use 1D scanning technology, have provided a streamlined path for how product information flows through retail systems worldwide. For consumers, they offer a convenient scan-and-go shopping experience. For retailers and brands, they provide an efficient and accurate way to manage inventory, product recalls, regulatory compliance and supply chain data. The UPC code is the silent workhorse that keeps the back end of business working so well.

Yet, the way the world does business has changed dramatically and so has consumer expectations for the items they purchase. CPG companies have raised a red flag: 1D technology is struggling to meet the advanced needs of retailers, consumers and the supply chain as a whole.

GS1 US, the non-profit organization that has been responsible for establishing supply chain bar code standards since it introduced the original UPC code, is leading the charge for a solution. Research conducted by GS1 US and a consortium of multi-national CPG companies determined that 2D bar codes, which include QR codes, can satisfy the ever-evolving needs of the global retail arena.

“The endgame is for brands to have a single multi-purpose 2D bar code on their packaging that can be used at the retail point-of-sale.” — Amber Walls | senior director of global standards | GS1 US

The GS1 identifiers already used in 1D bar codes today are integrated into the supply chain using GS1 Digital Link, the accepted method for encoding the standards. UPC bar codes contain a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) that uniquely identifies the product and connects back to the manufacturer. QR bar codes can hold that GTIN along with other information such as expiration dates and batch and lot numbers while also linking to certifications, instructions for use, traceability information, the item’s origin story, ingredient sources and more.

“Anything brands can do with a UPC code, they can do with a QR code,” said Amber Walls, senior director of global standards for GS1 US. “Plus, it lets them add all of this additional content without having to take up packaging space. The endgame is for brands to have a single multi-purpose 2D bar code on their packaging that can be used at the retail point-of-sale [POS]. They get the best of that established supply chain infrastructure as well as the consumer engagement experience.”

Transitioning retailers from 1D to 2D scanning technology at the POS is no easy feat. Retailers need to upgrade their POS systems to technology that can read both 1D and 2D bar codes. GS1 US, with the support of several global CPG companies, is spearheading that effort through its Sunrise 2027 initiative, which aims to have 2D scanning technology readily available at retailer POS sites by the end of that year.

As the technology upgrade rolls out, so does the campaign to educate brands, including food manufacturers, on the benefits of adding QR codes to their packaging. Many CPG companies have either already made the transition or are preparing to do so, using Sunrise 2027 as their timeline motivation.

Packaging supplier Kwik Lok works with companies across a range of industries and has been helping its customers integrate QR codes for several years.

“It makes sense from both a marketing and regulatory compliance perspective,” said Karen Reed, global director of marketing and communications for Kwik Lok. “We’ve received data from customers, some of whom are in the baking industry, that of all the tools they have in their toolkit, QR codes deliver the best ROI. I think it’s going to expand and become a big opportunity for bakers.”

While it’s important to note that the move isn’t mandatory, brands that make the transition stand to gain a significant competitive advantage.

This story has been adapted from the 2024 Innovations Annual of Commercial Baking. Read the digital edition here.

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