Milk drink packaging uses augmented reality

Innovations in the packaging industry tend to focus on sustainability or maintaining the freshness of a product, but Yili Weikezi has developed packaging that uses augmented reality (AR).

Packaged in 240 mL aseptic drink boxes, the company’s milk drinks feature the voiceprint of singer Han Lu. When consumers scan the voiceprint with a smartphone app, they will be presented with a different audio message for each of the four flavours — coffee, strawberry, banana and chocolate.

It will also launch an AR app in which consumers can play with and customise floating planets. For example, they can tap on plants to play sounds, record their own voiceprints, create their own planets using the AR and voiceprint technology, and share their creations with their friends.

According to GlobalData’s Q1 2017 consumer survey, interactive packaging has been gaining consumer interest, with 23% of global consumers and 40% of Chinese consumers claiming it is exciting. China is therefore a lucrative market for this type of packaging innovation, which bodes well for Yili Weikezi’s new offering.

Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director for GlobalData, suggested this was not the first time the packaging industry has turned to AR to create new experiences for customers.

“Making product packaging ‘come alive’ with AR has tremendous potential for fast-moving consumer goods. We are just beginning to see FMCG companies explore the possibilities. Just before Halloween in 2017, the Australian wine brand 19 Crimes launched an app that used AR to make each wine label come alive; the prisoner pictured on each label would move their lips and talk when scanned with a smartphone,” he said.

In 2017, AUSPACK similarly announced it was using AR technology in which users downloaded an app and scanned the edge of its packaging to display animated artwork and a customised video. While it has been known for a while that AR can deliver new customer experiences and better interactions with products, it is still widely underutilised.

Vierhile said Yili Weikezi’s AR packaging produces benefits for consumers and strengthens its marketing strategies.

“The brand has also strengthened its connection with popular singer Han Lu since his voiceprint is displayed on each package, closing the marketing loop in a brand new way.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/yusak_p