By World Spirits Alliance
Pick up a bottle of spirits and the label has a great deal to say in very little space. On a few square centimetres of paper, it tells you what you’re drinking, its alcohol content, how much is in the bottle, where it comes from and who made it, along with whatever else the local market requires. If the bottle is sold in several countries, it may be saying all of that in several languages.
Now think about what is in your pocket.
According to GSMA Intelligence’s The Mobile Economy 2026 report, 7 in 10 people worldwide now use mobile internet on their own devices. For most consumers reading a bottle label, a smartphone is within reach, and a QR code on that bottle can open a page with far more room than any label.
Most of us already know what to do with one. In recent years, the QR code has become the way we read a restaurant menu, board a train or check in for a flight.
That familiarity is what makes digital labelling so promising, and it is why the WSA sees it as one of the most practical tools available for keeping consumers informed and giving them more information in a form that is easier to use. A printed label can only hold so much, and the more it is asked to carry, the harder it becomes to read. Small print gets smaller, and the details people actually want to know risk getting lost.
Imagine buying a bottle of mezcal on holiday in Mexico or picking up a Japanese whisky as a gift. The label may be beautiful, but if it is written in a language you do not understand, it tells you very little. With a digital label, a quick scan can bring the same information up in your own language, on the screen you already use for almost everything else.
A digital label works alongside the printed one. Behind the code there is room for more detail on ingredients and origin, for the story of where and how a spirit is made, and for advice on how to recycle the packaging. Because the information lives online, it can stay up to date, so what a consumer reads reflects the bottle they are actually holding.
Digital labels bring wider benefits too, including from a sustainability point of view. Online information can be regularly updated, leading to fewer reprints and less packaging waste. A single label can also serve several markets, which matters most to smaller producers selling across borders.
The same code is also a natural home for effective communication about responsible drinking guidance. A digital label can show how many standard drinks are in a serving and point people towards national drinking guidelines, making it easier to measure what matters. Clear information, presented simply, is one of the most useful tools for moderation.
It is also a natural home for responsible drinking guidance. A digital label can show how many standard drinks are in a serving and point people towards national drinking guidelines, making it easier to measure what matters. Clear information, presented simply, is one of the most useful tools for moderation.
Consumers are increasingly ready for this. Research by GlobalData has revealed that more than half (56 per cent) of UK consumers would find it useful if they could access point of origin and sustainability information via a QR code on the packaging. Industry is moving the same way. Some of the world’s largest manufacturers and retailers, including Nestle, L’Oreal and Carrefour, have backeda global move to QR codes on product packaging, with the aim of wide adoption by the end of 2027. The habit is there and growing, and labelling rules now need to keep pace with it.
Some regulators, including in China and the European Union, have already started to make room for digital labels. Others should follow by recognising digital labels, where local law permits, as a legitimate way to provide the information a label is required to carry. The rules should also stay flexible and technology-neutral, focusing on whether information is accurate and accessible rather than on how it is delivered.
Consumers want clear, current information about what they are buying, and producers want to give it to them. Digital labels make that easier for both.
The best label for the job may already be in the shopper’s pocket. Regulators need only make room for it.
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