Breakfast cereal is pretty accessible, right? It doesn’t require cooking skills, electricity, or…well…anything. You can eat it straight out of the box if you want to. So it may be a surprise to hear that Kellogg’s cereals in the UK are going to take a major leap into greater accessibility.
Navilens technology
Kellogg’s UK says that there are more than two million people in the UK who have limited vision and can’t read cereal boxes. They can’t check nutritional information or feel confident that they are getting the Special K with Red Berries rather than the Cinnamon Pecan Special K.
To solve this, Kellogg’s will become the first company in th world to use Navilens technology in their food packaging.
Navilens is a special kind of QR code. With its app, users can get information very quickly with audible data or AR experiences in 24 languages.
It doesn’t rely on GPS or Bluetooth, so it can be used in all kinds of places, including subway tunnels and shopping malls. Users can find the codes without being able to see them well enough to aim their phones, and the app can detect and read them from about 10 feet away.
It’s even helpful for sighted users, who can get extra information and functionality not available to them just by looking. It’s a solution for people who cannot read, or for those with language barriers, too.
Those cereal boxes
What will the cereal boxes say? Kellogg’s has tried them out, and will be rolling them out in the UK next year, and then across Europe.
They read the basic packaging information, and allergen details.
So far, the Navilens technology has been used for public transportation, including the New York subway system, in museums, and in medical facilities. Once Kellogg’s has added it to food packaging, though, other companies may follow suit.
The Limited Edition Coco Pops package also has Braille letters, but the Navilens codes are actually more practical, since they can be read from a distance. They’re also easier for manufacturers to implements. Navilens codes can simply be printed on the package.
“I am proud that Kellogg’s will be the first company in the world to use NaviLens on packaging,” said Chris Silcock, head of Kellogg’s UK. “We know it’s important that all packaging is accessible for the blind community to enable them to make shopping easier, so we will share our experience with other brands who want to learn more.”
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