“Consumers told us they credit companies that treat them like adults and tell them the truth,” said Deborah Arcoleo, Director, Product Transparency at The Hershey Company.
This simple insight prompted a project to innovate the company’s product labeling, which it developed in collaboration with a leading CPG industry trade group so other brands can adopt it.
Called SmartLabel, it’s a platform for using the web to share ingredients and a full suite of other information with consumers via a QR code.
“It started with our CEO [JP Bilbrey] and his passion for transparency,” Arcoleo explained. “He saw a few years ago that consumer interest in product information wasn’t limited to Millennials, or any other segment, but that it was a mainstream issue we needed to address.”
Bilbrey was also the incoming chairman of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (“GMA”), and came up with the idea that an industry-wide approach to transparency with consumers would benefit every brand.