Kellogg Europe is adding world-first technology to its cereal boxes to make them accessible to blind and partially-sighted people.
Important information on food packaging, such as allergen details can often be in print that’s difficult for blind or partially-sighted people to read. The new boxes allow a smartphone to easily detect a unique on-pack code and play back labelling information to shoppers with sight loss.
The company will change all its cereal packaging across Europe, with the first accessible boxes of Special K have been appearing on shelf since January 2022.
Unlike other types of printed codes, the new technology, called NaviLens, uses high contrasting coloured squares on a black background. Users do not need to know exactly where the code is located to scan it.
It allows smartphones to pick up the on-pack code from up to three metres distance when a blind or partially-sighted shopper points their device in the direction of the cereal box. This then alerts the phone and the shopper can choose to have the ingredients, allergen and recycling information read aloud to them – as well as reading it on their device using accessibility tools.
Kellogg hopes that by sharing its experience with other brands there is an opportunity to make the supermarket shelves more accessible for people with sight loss so they can shop more independently and access information from a range of packaging.
Since January 2022, the codes have been included on over 400 million boxes or bags of Kellogg cereal and will be applied across cereal bar packaging and Pringles tubes throughout 2023.
