Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper Put Ingredient Transparency Behind QR Codes
The ingredient panel on a beverage can or bottle has always faced a physical limitation: there is only so much information that can fit on the package. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper are now using packaging QR codes to give consumers access to a much larger source of ingredient information without crowding the label with paragraphs of additional text.
The companies are participating in a beverage-industry initiative that connects product QR codes to Good to Know, a digital ingredient database developed by American Beverage. The database includes information on more than 140 ingredients used in beverages, including what an ingredient is, the function it serves, the types of products in which it may be found and how food-safety authorities in different countries have assessed it.
The rollout began during the first quarter of 2026. Participating beverage companies have committed to achieving full or near-full market penetration across their beverage portfolios by the end of 2027. If that target is reached, QR-enabled ingredient information will move from a limited packaging feature to something consumers can expect to find across a significant portion of the beverage aisle.
A Digital Extension of the Ingredient Panel
A conventional ingredient list tells consumers what is in a product, but it usually does not explain why each ingredient is used. Technical names can also create confusion when a shopper does not recognize a sweetener, preservative, color, vitamin, amino acid or functional ingredient.
The new QR code infrastructure is intended to supply that missing context. After scanning a code with a smartphone, a consumer can search the database for an ingredient and review its definition, common uses and regulatory status. According to American Beverage, the database compiles published findings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority and Health Canada. It can also include assessments from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives when applicable.
American Beverage says the platform does not contain industry research, recommendations or positions. Instead, it directs consumers to publicly available findings from food-safety authorities. That design matters because ingredient transparency is more useful when the information can be traced to the organizations responsible for reviewing food safety.
There is also an important limitation. The database provides general information about beverage ingredients, but it does not replace the ingredient statement printed on an individual product. Consumers still need to read the package to determine exactly which ingredients are present in the drink they are holding. The QR code supplies additional explanation and safety context after that first step.
Why QR Codes Work for Transparency
Packaging space is expensive. Beverage labels already need to accommodate branding, nutrition facts, ingredient statements, required warnings, recycling information, product identifiers and other regulatory content. Adding detailed explanations for every ingredient would be impractical, especially on small cans and bottles.
A QR code creates a bridge between the limited physical package and a much larger digital information source. The printed code occupies a relatively small area, while the connected webpage can contain definitions, links, safety assessments and other material that would never fit on the container itself. Digital content can also be revised when an assessment changes or new information becomes available, without requiring every explanation to be rewritten within the package artwork.
This gives the code a longer-term purpose than a temporary promotion. The package becomes an access point for information a consumer may want before making a purchase or while evaluating a product at home. A single scan can connect the physical beverage to a structured body of information that can grow over time.
The 2027 target is particularly significant for packaging producers. Full or near-full portfolio coverage means the code must work consistently across many brands, container sizes, substrates and production environments. It must remain readable after printing, converting, filling, packing, transportation and handling. A code that fails at the moment of scanning defeats the entire transparency effort.
How This Applies to Variable Data Printing
This specific initiative does not necessarily require every can or bottle to carry a unique QR code. A shared or product-level code can direct many packages to the same ingredient database. That is still a meaningful use of connected packaging, but it should not be confused with item-level serialization.
Variable data printing becomes more important when the destination or encoded information must change during production. A beverage company may want different QR codes for separate products, flavors, package sizes, countries, languages or regulatory markets. Codes can also change by production batch, promotional campaign, season or distribution region. At a more advanced level, a unique code can give each package its own digital identity for traceability, authentication, targeted engagement or product-specific records.
These applications require a production process that can receive changing data and print it accurately at line speed. The code must match the correct artwork, product and destination. Data files must be controlled so that codes are not duplicated, skipped or applied to the wrong package. Print quality must also be maintained because poor contrast, distortion, missing modules or inadequate clear space can make a QR code difficult or impossible to scan.
Digital Print, Inc. supports this part of the connected-packaging workflow with industrial inkjet systems that can add QR codes, barcodes, serial numbers, lot codes, dates and other changing information to existing production lines. For converters and packaging manufacturers, inline variable printing can make it possible to introduce multiple code versions or serialized identities without rebuilding the entire package design around preprinted static information.
The practical opportunity goes beyond printing a square code. The code must be connected to a reliable data source, applied to the correct package and remain readable throughout the product’s useful life. As more brands use packaging to deliver digital information, the ability to manage and print accurate variable data becomes part of the package’s performance rather than a secondary production detail.
What Packaging Producers Should Take From the Rollout
The beverage initiative shows that consumer transparency is becoming a real packaging requirement. Brands are using the package as the entry point to information that cannot fit within the traditional label. That change increases the importance of code quality, data management and dependable digital links.
Converters and manufacturers should be prepared for customers to request more QR-enabled versions across larger product portfolios. Some projects will use a common static code. Others will require codes that change by SKU, market, batch or individual item. Understanding that difference is essential when estimating a job and designing the production workflow.
The move by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper also gives consumers another reason to become comfortable scanning packaging. As that behavior becomes more familiar, brands can use the same basic connection for instructions, sourcing details, recycling guidance, accessibility, traceability and other product information. Ingredient transparency is the current application, but the larger development is a package that acts as a gateway to an evolving digital record.
For variable data printing, that shift creates a straightforward opportunity. Every new digital connection begins with a physical code that must be printed correctly. The more specific and personalized that connection becomes, the more important inline variable printing will be.
Sources
American Beverage announcement of the QR code ingredient-transparency rollout
Coverage of the participating companies, ingredient database and 2027 target
Independent coverage explaining the database’s scope and product-label limitation
Additional reporting on the packaging rollout and ingredient information