Canadians are increasingly scrutinizing the ingredients in products they buy and brands are responding with new ways of giving them the skinny. Digital is one way they’re handling full (very full) disclosure.
Part of a campaign to promote its premium Tazo teas, Starbucks has set up two of its locations in Toronto and Vancouver with interactive storefront touch screens. Created by Media Merchants, they allow customers to explore the quality of the ingredients as they digitally fill a sachet. “By introducing customers to both the beauty and quality of the ingredients that actually go into our Tazo tea sachets, we hope to deepen our customers’ experience,” explains Sharon Smyl, marketing manager, Starbucks Canada.
Lay’s is going even further in an effort to let its customers know exactly where its ingredients come from. In December, the Pepsico brand set up an online chip tracker for its “Lay’s Local” campaign. It lets customers discover the plant that produced their bag of chips and the farms that supplied the potatoes by entering the bag’s product code at Lays.ca. Chip trackers can also dig down for more detailed information on the specific farms and farmers.
“We’re trying to drive permissibility by telling consumers it’s real food – we’re not putting anything strange into the product – and at the same time if you’re proud of Canada, we’re a brand that supports our local farmers,” says Claudia Calderon, senior marketing manager, potato chips, Pepsico Canada.
The chip tracker, which initially launched in the U.S., was implemented in Canada for Lay’s by BBDO/Proximity.