Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I partners with Polytag to bring advanced QR technology to packaging

UK — Suntory Beverage & Food Great Britain & Ireland (SBF GB&I), the manufacturer behind Lucozade and Ribena, has announced a strategic partnership with Polytag to integrate next-generation QR technology across its product packaging.

The collaboration marks a significant shift in how the beverage producer will leverage packaging as a digital engagement tool and data-rich asset.

According to SBF GB&I, the partnership will unlock new capabilities in supply chain visibility, consumer interaction, and market intelligence, enabling the company to trace product movement in real time while building direct digital relationships with shoppers.

At the core of the initiative is Polytag’s enterprise platform, which allows brands to generate and manage GS1-compliant QR codes at barcode level via an intuitive dashboard.

Each code links to an extensive suite of functionalities including location-aware scanning data, fully brandable web pages, embedded videos, social media links, and dynamic campaign scheduling tools.

This transforms conventional packaging into an interactive touchpoint capable of delivering tailored content and capturing granular behavioural insights.

Polytag CEO Alice Rackley said the rollout reflects a broader evolution in how major brands use packaging, “Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I’s adoption of our platform demonstrates how enterprise brands are transforming packaging from static containers into intelligent assets.

“Location-aware scanning combined with campaign management tools gives companies the agility to respond to market dynamics in real-time while building direct consumer relationships.”

Keith Allen, head of commercialization at SBF GB&I, highlighted the strategic impact of the platform, “Polytag’s technology gives us supply chain visibility, consumer engagement capabilities and market intelligence through a single integration.

“The ability to manage campaigns dynamically whilst capturing location and behavioural data transforms how we understand and serve our customers.”

Will Addy, chief commercial officer at Polytag, added that the platform is built for scale, supporting millions of unique codes and simultaneous market campaigns across diverse regions.

“Enterprise teams need technology that handles complexity at volume. Our platform gives them the control and insight required to run sophisticated strategies without operational burden,” he said.

The initial deployment will begin with selected SBF GB&I products in the UK market. Expansion will be guided by insights captured through early-stage scanning activity and consumer engagement trends.

The partnership comes at a time when packaging digitization is accelerating across FMCG sectors, driven by increased regulatory requirements for traceability, rising consumer demand for transparency, and the growing role of data in brand-building strategies.

SBF GB&I’s move positions the company at the forefront of this shift, further enhancing its digital capability within the competitive beverages market.

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