Celebrating 30 years of the QR code highlights importance of accessible QR codes for customers with sight loss

DENSO WAVE created the QR Code in 1994 as a way of being able to put more information onto the automotive parts that its parent company, DENSO Corp, was producing. The idea was to replace a number of linear barcodes relating to a product with one, saving space and the time to scan each individual barcode. It was then made an ISO standard in 2000.

Now, 30 years on, major consumer goods organisations such as Unilever, P&G, Nestle and Kellanova are using the next generation of QR codes in the worlds most beloved and trusted brands including Dove, Ariel, SMA, Knorr, Kellogg’s and Pringles.

Daphne Mavroudi-Chocholi, Managing Director of RNIB Enterprises, said: “It’s fantastic that organisations such as Unilever, P&G, Nestle and Kellanova are playing an instrumental role in making some of the world’s most loved brands more accessible for blind and partially sighted people so that they have the same freedom, independence and choice as sighted customers.

“One in 5 UK households are impacted by sight loss; the lack of inclusive products and experiences, be they online or offline, affects us all. RNIB champions truly accessible design so that everyone is included by default and that can only be achieved through close, cross-sector collaboration.

“We look forward to working with more brands and manufacturers to make every consumer interaction inclusive and accessible.”

One example of successful collaboration is with Unilever, who worked with leading partners and organisations to make accessibility a core component of their use of QR codes. In the UK, Unilever started to deploy Accessible QR codes on pack with its Persil and Colman’s brands in 2023 and early 2024 in close partnership with RNIB.

Marc Powell, Global Accessibility Centre of Excellence (CoE) Lead at Unilever, said: “At Unilever, our accessibility vision is to make our brands unmissable for everyone. Since introducing accessible QR codes in 2023, we’ve expanded this technology globally across 35 brands in 25 markets. In the UK alone, such well-known household names as Colman’s, Persil, Knorr, and Lynx now feature AQRs, with further expansion planned for 2025.

“By driving digital innovation and embracing new technology, we are doing the right thing for our consumers, our partners and our business, while making our brands more inclusive for everyone – both in-store and at home.”

RNIB has also worked closely with Kellanova to make their packaging more accessible, including the addition of NaviLens – a multi-coloured code which reads aloud all the labelling copy on a pack in your chosen language.

Pete Matthews, Senior Director, Brand Design & Operations at Kellanova, said: “We worked with RNIB to create an accessible Coco Pops box to support World Sight Day in 2020. This was the first time that NaviLens had ever been used on packaging and it had an immediate impact by enabling blind and partially sighted people to shop independently.

“The trial was successful, but we had a lot of consumer feedback asking for this technology to be included on all our packaging. So that’s exactly what we did next – adding NaviLens codes to all our Kellogg’s, Pringles and Cheez-It packs across Europe, printing more than two billion accessible packs.

“Our company purpose is ‘to create a place at the table for everyone’ so we are fully committed to this journey. Many other big brands are now using NaviLens or accessible QR codes and I’d challenge everyone to take this simple step to make your packaging more inclusive.”

Viv Bradshaw, Technical Consultant at DENSO WAVE said: “We are delighted that the QR Code is providing accessibility to blind and partially sighted people; the company has always had an ethos of providing social benefits and this is a prime example. It is encouraging that large organisations continue to use the QR Code in beneficial ways and I would like to thank RNIB for this innovative solution.”

All media enquiries to the RNIB press office at [email protected]. For urgent enquiries out-of-hours, please call 07968 482812.

We are the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

Every six minutes, someone in the UK begins to lose their sight. RNIB is taking a stand against exclusion, inequality and isolation to create a world without barriers where people with sight loss can lead full lives. A different world where society values blind and partially sighted people not for the disabilities they’ve overcome, but for the people they are.

RNIB. See differently. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk.