When it comes to innovative moves in the breakfast cereal market, your first thought probably goes to the various flavor options offered on the breakfast aisle of your local supermarket. Breakfast cereal companies like Kellogg's (K) and General Mills (GIS) have managed to turn all kinds of delicious treats into cereals, from traditional breakfast foods and beyond. Some of your favorite candies have even launched a breakfast cereal!
Cereals have become part of a "well-balanced" morning routine since the mid-1800s. In more than a century, cereal has grown from a flavorless alternative to sugary foods that are the sweetest way to start a day.
In that time, companies have established worldwide brand recognition and routinely put new twists on classic favorites. Of course, new cereals coming out have exciting innovations too, like Kellogg's holiday-themed cereal which was made to leave your mouth with a cool, tingly feeling.
Whether it's releasing a classic cereal into mini puff form or turning popular cereal brands into snacks, products like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Trix can be found in varied shapes, sizes, and treats -- sometimes on multiple aisles.
Now Kellogg's has made a move to help some customers find the cereals they're looking for -- thanks to a little help from NaviLens.
Kellogg Company
Kellogg's Uses Digital Codes to Lead Shoppers Right to the Box
Kellogg’s will now be using smart codes -- similar to QR codes -- that will help blind and vision-impaired shoppers locate products using the NaviLens app. The app gives customers audio cues to direct them to the box. And thanks to the high-contrast colored smart codes, smartphones can recognize codes from several feet away.
The codes will be placed on boxes of Corn Flakes, Special K Original, Rice Krispies, and Crispix. The app can communicate the name of the product, its size, and nutritional information in 36 languages.
Kellogg's chief brand and advanced analytics officer, Charisse Hughes, had this to say about the brand's new technology: “The heart of Kellogg’s Better Days Promise ESG strategy is the advancement of sustainable and equitable access to food. We work hard to think outside the box to ensure our products are accessible to as many people as possible."
The packaging first rolled out across stores in the U.K. in late 2020, created with the help of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). The company aims to include the NaviLens codes throughout its offices by the end of 2023.
The Future of NaviLens and Food Products
NaviLens was founded to give visually impaired people an alternative to signage and labels not made for them.
The app is viable at a longer distance than your typical QR code and reads clearly, based on wider angles and precise location tools. Until Kellogg’s, the app company mostly worked with public transportation, museums, and schools.
But thanks to this most recent innovation by a cereal company, the use of NaviLens codes could become commonplace in your local grocery store.
