By Jenny Stanley
What happens when a jar of jam can tell you the name of the woman who made it, a cereal box knows whether it’s talking to a child or their parent, and your AI assistant does your shopping before you’ve even opened the app? This is not a thought experiment, it’s happening today, in factories, on shelves and in people’s hands.
I recently hosted a discussion on the intersection of AI and connected packaging: Sandra Wagner, CEO of AuraVeo, Camilla Young, Programme Lead for the Next Generation of Barcodes at GS1 UK, and Guillermo Dufranc, sustainable packaging expert at Tridimage. The question we set out to answer was: what actually happens when artificial intelligence meets the physical pack?
From QR code to media channel
The biggest shift was hearing Sandra describe the product itself as a media channel in its own right, not just a connected experience bolted onto a campaign. She explained how an AI ‘companion’ can be built into connected packaging so shoppers can ask it anything.
The conversation with consumers no longer ends at the point of purchase. It continues through the smart AI powered packaging once the product is home, whether that’s through recipe inspiration, interactive games, ‘how to use’ guides or ongoing product support.
Camilla’s health and nutrition example landed well too: instead of hunting for small print, a shopper could simply ask an agent the same question every time, like protein content or whether something’s vegetarian.
The panel argued that if your product is a media channel, it needs to be integrated into your wider marketing strategy, not treated as a one-off campaign gimmick for Christmas or Halloween.
Sandra also made a point that: brands don’t need to wait for a full packaging redesign to get started. Image recognition means even products without a QR code can take part in a connected experience while the label catch-up happens in the background – which, given redesigns can take 12 to 18 months, removes a real barrier to entry.
Technology that spotlights the story
Guillermo shared a great case study to illustrate that technology should never lead the story; it should serve it. A jam packaging project for a group of women producing prickly pear preserves in Argentina, used AI-generated textures to create around 2,000 unique labels from roughly 200 source images, each honouring an individual woman’s story, paired with an NFC chip linking to video content. To access the information, consumers just held their phone held close to a jar, with no app or download required. The first run sold out before it even hit shelves.
Since December 2025, 55% of consumers have been using AI weekly for product research, and 43% had discovered a new brand through AI. That means brands are now designing for two very different shoppers – human and machine – and the machine shopper cares about structured, accurate, up-to-date data far more than emotional storytelling. If an AI agent goes looking for your product, will it find the right information, and will it recommend you?
Personalisation without the creepiness
Camilla brought some sobering context: consumers say they want personalised experiences, but there’s a real ‘say-do’ gap driven by nervousness about data. Her take was refreshingly practical; personalisation doesn’t have to mean knowing someone’s name. It can mean understanding what a group of shoppers wants to see, in that moment, without following their every move.
Sandra echoed this point saying that: people will happily hand over data when the experience earns it. Anonymous, GDPR-compliant scans are the default; registration only happens when there’s a clear value exchange. As she put it, no one gives away information if they don’t know what they’re getting in return.
Guillermo added that: a good data strategy starts with transparency, not collection. Get that right and connected packaging stops feeling like surveillance and starts building trust.
Next steps for brands
The panel agreed on five key actions brands can take today, they included:
1: Audit your product data for AI discoverability. Check what an AI agent finds when it goes looking for your product today, and correct anything that’s outdated or inaccurate.
2: Get ahead of GS1 Sunrise 2027 now, not later. AI-driven shopping is forcing brands to move to QR codes faster than regulation requires. Don’t wait for the compliance deadline to catch up with you.
3: Give your AI companion a distinct, audience-specific voice. Tune its personality and language to reach the segments you’re currently missing, not just to answer generic questions.
4: Design the value exchange before you ask for data. Decide what the consumer gets before you decide what you want from them.
5: Don’t wait for a full label redesign to start. Image recognition means you can launch a connected experience on packs you already have on shelf, while the redesign catches up in the background.
Sandra’s prediction was bold: packaging is moving towards single-pack, single-shopper personalisation. Guillermo’s caveat was equally important, as AI, NFC, QR and digital passports proliferate, simplicity matters more than ever, or we risk creating the packaging equivalent of ad-blocker fatigue. And Camilla’s hope for the GS1 Sunrise 2027 barcode-to-QR transition was refreshingly modest: let’s just make shopping a bit easier for everyone.
Everyone landed on the same principle: technology must serve a clear purpose, not the other way round. The brands getting this right aren’t chasing the shiniest tool; they’re starting with what their consumer actually needs, then working backwards to the tech that delivers it.
As AI reshapes how products are discovered, questioned and understood, that discipline will separate the brands building real trust from the ones just adding noise to the shelf.
Jenny Stanley is Managing Director at Appetite Creative. For more information visit: appetitecreative.com
Watch the full webinar discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNy2c5d97VI
Source: Appetite Creative
The Intelligent Pack: How AI is reshaping consumer engagement added by newsroom on
View all posts by newsroom →
You must be logged in to post a comment Login