Reality check

Abstract

Food Science and TechnologyVolume 35, Issue 2 p. 52-55 FeaturesFree Access Reality check First published: 15 June 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/fsat.3502_15.xAboutSectionsPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Cristina Ferrandez of Poplar Studio explains how augmented reality (AR) can drive growth for food industry brands. Using this technology, customers can scan a product with their smartphone to see additional information beyond basic ingredient lists or nutritional facts. From retail and education to tourism and entertainment, the variety of use cases for augmented reality (AR) across various different industries is limitless. Already, augmented reality, defined as technology that enhances the real-world environment with digital visual elements, is being used to do everything from helping physicians perform complex surgeries to creating immersive experiences for gamers. One area in particular where AR can bring immense value is the food industry. With COVID-19 still necessitating restrictions for on-premises dining and consumers looking for ever more innovative experiences, AR is a powerful tool for food businesses looking to get ahead of changing trends and attracting new customers. The five examples below give some insight into how AR can drive growth in the food industry. Augmented packaging Consumers have never been more interested in what goes into their food1, particularly when it comes to finding out nutritional facts or whether ingredients were sustainably sourced2. However, with traditional food packaging, customer knowledge of a specific product is restricted to the limited information that appears on the packaging itself. On the other hand, companies are bound by label sizes, so the amount and type of information that a brand can share with a consumer is naturally limited. By allowing customers to interact with the product packaging, AR can give food packaging a new dimension. Augmented packaging is based on image tracking, a feature that enables AR apps to detect and augment 2D static images. Using this technology, customers can scan a product with their smartphone to see additional information beyond basic ingredient lists or nutritional facts. AR-triggered content can be diverse and extend far beyond educational purposes. Used as a tool for growing customer engagement, AR can transform a product's packaging into an exciting experience. A good example of this is Starbucks’ AR app, launched in 2011, that allowed customers to animate their coffee cups with Christmas-themed effects. By pointing their phone's camera at Starbucks’ red holiday cups or other items displayed at Starbucks’ retail locations, like a bag of Starbucks coffee, customers could bring to life and interact with five festive characters, for example a boy on a sledge who performed a somersault. Another recent example is Pizza Hut's limited-edition AR Pac-Man box3. Earlier this year, Pizza Hut partnered with Pac Man to leverage nostalgia (and AR) as an effective marketing strategy to boost sales. Pizza Hut customers will soon be able to scan the QR (quick response) code on large pizza boxes to play the retro game in AR, an experience that has already garnered attention among food fans. AR packaging allows brands to share their sustainability stories With at least a third of consumers preferring to shop with sustainable brands4, food producers and food service companies are increasingly using augmented packaging to promote their sustainability efforts. In 2018, the Chiquitas banana brand encouraged shoppers to scan the fruit's blue sticker with their phones to be transported to an immersive banana farm from where they could follow the journey of the product to their kitchen table5. AR food packaging can also prompt buyers to recycle. In 2018, the British supermarket chain Asda and dairy cooperative Arla collaborated on ‘Have You Herd?’, an AR app that advised shoppers how to recycle plastic milk bottles properly6. After hovering their smartphones in front of participating products, an animated milk bottle character came to life, which then linked to a video explaining how to wash and recycle the bottles. AR simplifies product packaging research AR can also be useful for brands looking for more efficient ways to conduct packaging research for fast-moving consumer goods. While physical 3D product prototypes are superior to printed images and digital versions of designs, it does not always make sense to produce them during packaging research, especially if they are only going to be shown to a small group of respondents. With AR, on the other hand, respondents can use a smartphone to see realistic 3D product designs in the real-world (i.e. the supermarket shelf or a kitchen table). A 2016 study7 found that when shown a food item in three forms – real, photographic and AR – most people have an equally strong response to both the physical food and the AR version of the food. In the future, AR could replace the need to redesign food packaging altogether. Rather than having to come up with new designs, food producers and service companies may be able to recycle and reuse the packaging they already have, focusing on changing or updating linked AR experiences to support new campaigns instead. Product launches For brands that want to magnify a new product launch campaign, AR can provide a unique solution. Regardless of where customers are located, AR can deliver immersive virtual events – whether social media experiences or in-store activations – that may be just as effective as in-person experiences. In some cases, an AR event may be superior to a traditional product launch event like a live demo or an in-store trial. This is because AR's interactive functionality allows customers to be active participants as opposed to passive viewers. For the launch of its ‘Absolut Juice’ edition, Absolut commissioned Poplar Studio to create a mini-game that prompted Snapchat users to catch strawberries in their virtual glass by opening and closing their mouths – a memorable experience8. With AR, brands can also market their new product to customers all over the world for an extended period of time. This global reach allows brands to overcome conventional obstacles like physical location and time constraints. Poplar Studio created a WebAR experience for the whisky brand Jack Daniels9. For nine months, customers at Slug and Lettuce bars could scan a QR code on every Lynchburg Lemonade they ordered to be transported to a Jack Daniels distillery, where they could see how the world-famous whisky is made. Users did not even have to download any apps – visiting Jack Daniels's website via the browser automatically loaded the AR experience. An AR promotion for Jack Daniels Source: facebook.com/wearepoplar/photos/head-to-your-local-slug-lettuce-and-order-a-lynchburg-lemonade-to-see-our-jackda/334378323924960 Augmented menus A new trend in restaurant marketing, augmented menus can help restaurateurs turn moments of customer hesitation in front of their menus into an unforgettable experience. Diners can use AR to see what their potential order will look like in advance. In addition to being able to look at the dish from all angles, customers can also see the item's texture and presentation. Like augmented packaging, augmented menus are also image tracker AR experiences. In other words, by pointing their smartphone at the menu, customers can preview the food in 3D as well as learn more about the items they are thinking of ordering, starting with ingredients and calorie information and ending with nutritional information and portion sizes. In this way, augmented menus reduce the need for customers to interact with waiters, which frees up staff time and reduces physical contact. In 2020, Poplar Studio worked with the Mexican restaurant group Wahaca to create the first-ever AR menu in the UK10. Wahaca customers at select locations can now scan a QR code printed on physical Wahaca menus to access detailed descriptions and pictures of dishes, and additional information like allergens and sustainability practices. Crucially, thanks to a Content Management System (CMS) integration, Wahaca can update the names, descriptions and photos of dishes as necessary. Because the experience is linked to a contact-free digital payment system, customers can also pay directly from their table without having to interact with anyone or anything. Example of an AR menu from Wahaca Source: Poplar Studio Augmented menus may also be a valuable asset for restaurants located in and around tourist areas. In Japan, for example, most restaurants showcase plastic replicas of food, which means that people can order without even looking at the menu. But plastic replicas are expensive and require plenty of display space. AR menus are a neat alternative and allow restaurants to break down language and cultural barriers that can sometimes prevent diners from trying exotic and ethnic dishes. For restaurateurs, AR menus can also boost revenue. A 2019 Oxford University study11 found that diners are more than twice as likely to order dessert if they view dessert options in an AR menu versus a traditional menu. Additionally, customers that view desserts via an AR menu spend twice as much money. It is also possible to set up augmented menus to suggest accompaniments to a dish, for example, a wine pairing for the main course. Within AR menus, you can also promote meals of the day, happy hour and other discounts. AR menus keep customers engaged AR menus can also keep diners entertained long after they have placed their order. For example, kid-friendly restaurants can enhance kids menus with fun gamified experiences. UK soft drink brand Robinsons Fruit Shoot developed an AR app that turns kids colouring placemats at various restaurant chains like Harvester and Wimpy into interactive games and puzzles12. Adults may also enjoy AR games that engage their attention while they are waiting to be served. In 2018, the Italian restaurant PizzaExpress added an AR extension to its existing app that allowed customers to play a 60-second virtual football match as their pizza was being made13. UK soft drink brand Robinsons Fruit Shoot developed an AR app that turns kids colouring placemats at various restaurant chains like Harvester and Wimpy into interactive games and puzzles. Interactive recipes Food producers and food service companies can also use AR to offer additional exclusive content and inspiration for their customers. By integrating AR into product packaging or as part of a social media experience, brands can give users access to interactive step-by-step recipes or even allow them to cook a meal virtually. In 2011, Heinz used AR packaging to promote ketchup as a cooking ingredient14. After scanning the ‘Your secret ingredient’ label on a ketchup bottle, customers were presented with an online pop-out book full of recipes that included Heinz ketchup as one of the ingredients. Interactive recipes are not limited to food items. In 2019, Angry Orchard launched an AR app to help customers pair the brand's ciders with different dishes15. Scanning the bottle offered users tasting notes and appetiser, entree and dessert recommendations, plus recipes. For example, because the pear cider is light and acidic, the app recommended pairing it with rich foods like baked brie, for which it contained a recipe. Grocery stores are getting in on the action too. In 2020, selected Coop grocery stores in Sweden launched an in-store AR game app that took both kids and adults on a recipe scavenger hunt16. Social media experiences Social media tech giants like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram offer AR experiences. The growing ubiquity of AR on social media opens the door for forward-thinking brands to use immersive storytelling as a means of promoting their brands and educating customers about their products. The types of social AR experiences available vary from platform to platform, but most include face filters and mini-games. Example of a social media AR experience from Flipz, Source: Poplar Studio Taco Bell, the American-based chain of fast-food restaurants, was one of the first food brands to experiment with branded AR filters. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo in 2016, it created a filter that turned users’ heads into tacos. The, frankly quite weird, filter was a massive hit with users, resulting in more than 224m views in just one day17, making it the top campaign in the app's history. According to Snapchat, most users spent about 24 seconds interacting with the filter before sending a ‘taco-fied’ version of themselves to their friends or sharing it on their story for all their Snapchat friends to see. In contrast, ‘Dreaming of Flipz’ is an example of a social media AR mini-game18. Flipz, the pretzels company, teamed with Poplar Studio to create a mini-game that allowed users to capture pretzels in their mouth via their phones, producing a scrumptious-sounding crunch in the process. Future developments According to one estimation, the global augmented reality market will reach $340bn by 202819. To put this in perspective, that is a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 43% from 2021 to 2028. The pandemic has accelerated AR adoption, with the number of mobile AR users predicted to grow from 1.96bn in 2021 to 2.4bn in 2023. By investing in AR now, food brands have a unique opportunity to leapfrog ahead of their competition and leverage one of the world's fastest-growing technology trends. Cristina Ferrandez Poplar Studio, 46 St Paul St, London N1 7DA Email cristina@poplar.studio Web https://poplar.studio/ References 1https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliabolayanju/2019/02/16/top-trends-driving-change-in-the-food-industry/?sh=73f5e5e66063Google Scholar 2https://www.foodservicefootprint.com/consumers-are-actually-buying-into-sustainable-food-study/Google Scholar 3https://mobile-ar.reality.news/news/pizza-hut-delivery-now-comes-with-slice-80s-gaming-via-pac-man-ar-0384444/Google Scholar 4https://www.unilever.com/news/press-releases/2017/report-shows-a-third-of-consumers-prefer-sustainable-brands.htmlGoogle Scholar 5https://www.marketingdive.com/news/chiquita-shazam-partner-on-arvr-banana-experience/527740/Google Scholar 6https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/sustainability-and-environment/asda-and-arla-link-for-have-you-herd-ar-recycling-app/572166.articleGoogle Scholar 7https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26882325/Google Scholar 8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhFR48RGHT4Google Scholar 9https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X9UKw5RT1U&t=33sGoogle Scholar 10https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/129200/wahaca-menu/Google Scholar 11https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thespoon.tech/as-menus-move-to-mobile-phones-research-shows-ar-could-drive-more-sales/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1618404589328000&usg=AOvVaw2XrihJ-n4tdKm0-rOBPwrUGoogle Scholar 12https://www.ramjam.co.uk/robinsons-fruit-shoot-transforms-family-dining-experiences-thing-augmented-reality-gaming-app/Google Scholar 13https://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/pizzaexpress-turns-tables-into-pitches-with-ar-game#:~:text=The%20%27Doughball%27%20game%2C%20which,as%20many%20goals%20as%20possible. 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