Frozen Food Brand Unveils Packaging That Guides The Visually Impaired At Grocers

Find supermarket runs a chore? It’s even more daunting for visually impaired people.

To make grocery runs a little smoother for this group of customers, UK frozen food brand Aunt Bessie’s has partnered with the Royal National Institute of Blind People to introduce innovative packaging to help them navigate the isles.

Tapping on NaviLens technology, customers can download an accompanying smartphone app at their regular grocer, which will help them detect the unique code on the front of selected items. 

Once scanned, the customer will be given audible directions to guide them to the chosen product and convey related information, such as nutritional values, ingredient lists, and preparation instructions for different foods. 

According to the brand, nine in 10 of the nearly two million blind people in the UK have difficulty finding or deciphering food packaging. It hopes this initiative will provide for these customers to experience more independence both in stores and when cooking at home.

“With the frozen aisle identified as one of the more challenging aisles to shop for the visually impaired, we hope that by improving accessibility to our products using NaviLens technology, we can help make a real different to our blind and partially sighted shoppers’ experience,” remarked the firm.  “So everyone has the accessibility to enjoy a roast dinner with loved ones.”

Who says packaging just needs to look pretty to be attractive?

[via The Drum and Aunt Bessie’s, cover image via Aunt Bessie’s]