By Andy Young
Diageo has announced that it is adding nutritional information labels to bottles of Johnnie Walker across the globe.
The new label for bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label go into production in early spring, and will then be shipped to dozens of global markets. 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. Every year around 115 million bottles of Johnnie Walker Red Label are typically produced and shipped around the world.
Diageo’s chief executive, Ivan Menezes, said: “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.”
The labels conform to the new Diageo Consumer Information Standards (DCIS) which came into force earlier this month and which apply to all Diageo brands. The standards have been developed by Diageo after global research highlighted the way consumers want to receive and understand information regarding their alcohol products.
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. Less information, clearly presented was a consistent request across all markets. The research also found that, of all the information that could be included, the preference was for alcohol information (standard drink size, ABV, how many units), calories per serve, sugar content, allergens and brand facts, such as how a product is made and quality assurances.
Carolyn Panzer, Diageo’s director of alcohol in society, said: “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 labelling 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 favourite drink or what is in their glass.”
In Australia Diageo already supplies nutritional information on some of its RTD and RTS products and the plan is for the new labels to be added to Johnnie Walker Black Label, Double Black, Gold Label Reserve, Platinum and Green Label by the first half of 2017.