Inspirational ideas: A Smart Label to Build Trust with Consumers

This inspirational idea is also available in a Slovak version. 

Translation courtesy of the National Rural Network Slovakia. Read more EIP-AGRI inspirational ideas in Slovak on the NRN website. 

A Smart Label to Build Trust with Consumers

Imagine if you could discover the story behind a bottle of wine; details about the grapes that have gone into it, how and where the wine was made, the history of the vineyard… Computer scientists and wine-makers in Italy have teamed up to make this a reality. Operational Group SMA.LA.WI.,  has developed a smart label which you can scan with your smart phone to read more about the specific wine you are buying. Their aim is to help guarantee the authenticity of high-quality Italian Veneto wines by strengthening the relationship of trust between producers and consumers.

The project partners identified that consumers tend to be less familiar with the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) classification than with the better-known Protected Designation of Origin PDO one. Veneto PGI wines are often perceived as less prestigious and wineries struggle to make their quality known. PGI wines must be made from grapes from the region. However, they are not required to follow any criteria regarding production method, grape variety or aging specifications, but this does not limit their quality or traditional values. Digital marketing tools such as smart labelling and QR codes can bring more visibility to a product and improve the position of the producer in the agri-food value chain.

Operational Group SMA.LA.WI., is coordinated by winery  run by brothers Francesco and Michele Monstresor. They grow their own grapes, and they produce, market and sell their wine in the EU and beyond. The project also involves the University of Verona (departments of Business Economics and Computer Science) and Vignaioli Veneti, a cooperative of high-quality Veneto wine producers.

“Every bottle of wine is different, it has its own character and its own story. We believe that when a consumer is buying a bottle of wine, they should be able to discover the territorial value of the products, production processes as well as corporate values and identity of the company who produces them” says Michele, “Consumers are increasingly analytical, wanting to know about the products they are buying, not only the place of origin but also the values of the producer.” So the partnership aimed to design a smart label which could make this information instantly available to the consumer through an app on their smart phones, going beyond the requirements PGI of what wines have to present on their label. The objective is to create a connection to the consumers, reassuring them about the quality and authenticity of the product. By reconstructing relationships in the supply chain, the project ultimately aims to reduce the gap between PGI and PDO wines.

“The smart label not only contributes to marketing but it also protects both the producer and customer against fraud. It increases traceability - you can geolocalise the productions, and you can find out about the company’s protocols concerning environmental sustainability” Michele explains. 

The project partners identified 5 wineries members of the Vignaioli Veneti cooperative to use as case studies. Michele tells us “We began with a strategic analysis of the wineries in terms of their products, their objectives and needs.” The partners also carried out a survey among consumers about the use of the app. Each winery selected one wine for the case study; at the Otella winery they chose a high-value PGI red wine. The next step was to draw up the basic information to be included in the smart label, including product quality, traceability of inputs and production processes, sustainability protocols implemented by the wineries – “A sort of identity card for each wine” says Michele. A cloud platform was set up where this information was uploaded in different languages.

In parallel, the partners, led by the University of Verona, defined an encryption system for the QR code as well as a watermarking system for the label and the bottle. In the next stage, the case-study labels were printed and the bottles commercialised on the market. 

The QR code also enables the producers to have some information on their consumers through data that is collected automatically. This can also be advantageous for the producer. The first analysis of this data will be carried out over the next few months, but as Michele explains, “I have already had positive feedback from customers in the USA and China, who have found the app very useful to learn more about our wine production process” 

The Operational Group will end this year. Michele hopes to set up a new project to involve more of the producers from the Vignaioli Veneti cooperative, and to extend the use of the smart label to all of the wines. 

Project information

• Contact: Michele MONTRESOR, info@ottella.it, +39 0457551950
• Project page on EIP-AGRI Operational Group database
• Project website
• Video (in Italian, auto-translate available)

Photos: Otella