AIPIA World Congress 2017

First ‘digital beers’ coming to stores soon

By Jenny Eagle

- Last updated on GMT

Lisa Hakola and Maria Smolander from VTT present digital beer bottles with smart codes. Photo: VTT
Lisa Hakola and Maria Smolander from VTT present digital beer bottles with smart codes. Photo: VTT

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VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and UpCode have collaborated on a project to launch digital beers.

VTT’s senior research scientist Maria Smolander will be speaking at AIPIA’s (Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association) Active & Intelligent Packaging World Congress and Hackathon 2017 in Amsterdam from November 2-3 about its TagitSmart and how it can be used on beer bottles.

TagItSmart project

UpCode_olut

Consumers will be able to buy digital beer, as well as other consumables, capable of providing information about the product itself and its production stages thanks to embedded smart codes and sensors on a product. 

A smart sensor attached to a beer bottle label knows if the beer is fit for consumption, its brewer, and the circumstances under which it was brewed​,” said Liisa Hakola, project manager, VTT. 

The codes in the label also inform the reader of how the lifespan of the product can be improved and offer a direct communication channel between the consumer and the manufacturer.​” 

The European TagItSmart project, which will run until the end of 2018, has seen VTT develop functional inks for smart codes. 

Bock beer

Project partner Upcode has designed individualized 2D codes attached to the labels of Bock beer bottles, from a brewery in Vaasa, Finland.   

Beer bottles are the first product offering these additional features. They are being used to get feedback on Finnish consumers’ opinions by selling bottles at a local store in Vaasa and logging views with an online forum. 

This technology will deliver a significant change to product branding, as it enables not only product personalization but consumer-directed production and distribution and, thereby, a higher value added on the digital market​,” said Sture Udd, CEO, UpCode. 

'Printed and Hybrid Manufacturing for Intelligent Packaging Applications', will be presented by Smolander at the AIPIA World Congress​ from 11:40am - 12:10pm on Thursday, November 2. 

Click here​ to register for the event. 

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