Bayer's accessible QR code revolutionises healthcare packaging

Bayer Consumer Health UK has unveiled an Accessible QR code (AQR) on its Canescool Soothing Gel Cream product's packaging to assist individuals who are blind or partially sighted.

Developed in collaboration with Zappar and the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People), these innovative QR codes are compatible with accessibility apps like the Envision app and Microsoft SeeingAI.

The AQR codes cater to users with varying levels of sight, delivering product information through text-to-speech. Users will also find expanded product details and a knowledge quiz on a dedicated Canescool website landing page.

Canescool Soothing Cream Gel is part of Bayer Consumer Health's Women's Intimate Health portfolio and will be available on Amazon and in Boots stores from October 2023, with a broader distribution across other major retailers and pharmacies to follow.

Marc Powell, Accessibility Innovation Lead at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said: Improving access to self-care and health information for blind and partially sighted people is hugely important. Independence and choice is something we should all have, especially when it comes to looking after ourselves. More than two million people in the UK are living with sight loss and by 2050 it will double to over four million people. We’re delighted that Bayer and Zappar are collaborating and are now on a journey to ensure that packaging information is available to blind and partially sighted consumers through the use of the Zap Vision technology, and encourage other big brands to make that leap too.

This initiative makes Canescool the first women's intimate health brand in the world to adopt AQR codes on its product packaging, offering improved access to information for over 200,000 registered blind or partially sighted women in the UK.

Click here to view videos that demonstrate how it works:

• Using SeeingAI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieVcxajtJv4
• Using Zapvision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9jaD9SZzo