Diageo has announced that Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky will be its first global brand to provide consumers around the world with on-pack alcohol content and nutritional information per typical serve. Beginning in fall 2016, the new labels for bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch Whisky will go into production and will then be shipped to dozens of markets globally. By the end of the year, up to 30 million bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label with on-pack alcohol content and nutritional information per typical serve will be on the shelves, helping consumers understand what’s in their glass. Every year around 115 million bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label are typically produced and shipped around the world.
The labels conform to the new Diageo Consumer Information Standards (DCIS), which came into force July 1, 2016, and will apply to all Diageo brands. Diageo developed the DCIS based on research of more than 1,500 consumers around the world, including people from North America, Great Britain, Mexico and Spain.
The new label designs reflect the way consumers want to receive—and can understand—information on alcohol content. Those surveyed said that when too much information (especially small text) is placed on the label, it can be confusing and they may ignore it all. A consistent request by consumers across all markets was for less information clearly presented. The research also found that, of all the information that could be included, their preference was for alcohol information, including standard drink size, ABV, and how many units, as well as calories per serve, sugar content, allergens, and brand facts, such as how a product is made and quality assurances.
Using this research, Diageo has committed to provide labeling across all its brands that is consistent in layout, so people know where to look for information on every pack, and that uses icons that are significantly easier to understand than words, all of which tested well in focus groups. In order to share best practice for providing information in a way that is easy for consumers to understand, Diageo is posting a public version of the DCIS.
Says Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive of Diageo, “We believe people should have the best possible information to make informed choices about what they drink: this includes alcohol content and nutritional information per typical serve. Johnnie Walker is one of our largest global brands, which means these new labels will arm millions of people around the world with clear information about what’s in their glass and in a way they can understand at a glance.”
From next month, cans and bottles of Ireland’s number one ale, Smithwick’s, will also hit the shelves with updated labels, and from early next year, Guinness Draught cans sold in the Republic of Ireland will also be updated to carry alcohol content and nutritional information per serve. Between them, Smithwick’s and Guinness account for 39% of Ireland’s beer market.
Updates to Johnnie Walker Black Label, Double Black, Gold Label Reserve, Platinum, and Green Label are also planned for the first half of 2017.
Carolyn Panzer, Director of Alcohol in Society, Diageo, says, “The new scheme is simple, clear and attractive—and most importantly, it’s based on what consumers want. There is no beverage of moderation, only a practice of moderation, and that is why we are committed to providing information on alcohol per serving, which enables people to compare the amount of alcohol in different kinds of drinks—from beer to bourbon—at a glance. Current labeling on most alcoholic beverages does not reflect how people consume alcohol and therefore does not allow consumers to understand how much alcohol is in their favorite drink or what is in their glass.”
This announcement forms part of Diageo’s strategy to deliver its commitment to providing alcohol content and nutritional information per typical serve through Diageo’s responsible drinking website DRINKiQ.com and/or on-pack in a majority of Diageo’s markets subject to local regulatory approval, as soon as practicable. In the first move to fulfill this commitment, the first shipment of Crown Royal labeled with macronutrient and calorie information was released in the U.S. in October 2015.
