FuturePrint Podcast
FuturePrint is dedicated to and passionate about the power of print technology to enable new opportunities and create new value. This pod features deep-dive discussions with the people behind the tech as well as market analysis, trends, marketing and storytelling!
FuturePrint Podcast
#305 - Next-Generation Barcodes and the Future of Connected Packaging: A Conversation with GS1 UK’s Camilla Young
In this episode we dive into one of the most significant – yet often misunderstood – transformations underway in global retail and packaging: the shift from traditional barcodes to next-generation QR codes powered by GS1. Our guest, Camilla Young, leads this programme for GS1 UK and has rapidly become one of the most compelling voices in the space.
With a commercial background spanning major CPG brands such as Pernod Ricard, BIC, Hasbro and Johnson & Johnson, Camilla brings a rare blend of brand insight, consumer understanding, and technical clarity to a topic that is reshaping how products are made, sold, tracked, understood, and recycled.
We explore:
- What GS1 actually does and why global standards underpin the entire retail and supply chain ecosystem.
- The forces driving change: consumer expectations, sustainability pressure, EU regulations, digital shopping, and AI.
- The difference between ordinary QR codes and GS1 Digital Link QR codes – and why next-generation barcodes can now scan at POS.
- The vast potential for connected packaging, from traceability and recalls to accessibility, authentication, and first-party consumer engagement.
- Why printers, converters, and packaging suppliers have a critical role in ensuring print quality, verification, and correct implementation.
- How this shift will enable digital product passports, carbon transparency, circularity, and smarter supply chains.
Camilla shares clear, practical explanations that demystify what is coming – and why the print and packaging sector should be fully informed and preparing now.
For more information:
GS1 UK – gs1uk.org
Global GS1 – gs1.org
Follow Camilla on LinkedIn for updates, case studies, and live examples of next-generation barcodes being deployed around the world.
Listen on:
Apple Podcast
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Spotify
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SPEAKER_02:Welcome to the latest episode of the Future Print Podcast. I'm really happy to have with me today Camilla Young, who's an expert in GS1. And we're going to find out much more about that. But I've seen Camilla speak in Barcelona now and also in London. She's a brilliant speaker and an expert in a field. Camilla, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you, and great to be here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, thanks for joining us. Camilla, before we get into talking about GS1, which is super important, I know, I'd be interested to hear a bit about your kind of backstory and your experience, which I think people would be really interested to hear more about.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and and um I found it quite amusing when you said that I was an expert in GS1 when you introduced me because um actually a couple of years ago I didn't even know who GS1 were. So I feel like I've really uh upped my game over the last couple of years. Um but my background is actually commercial. I uh worked in CPG for oh showing my age, but nearly 20 years or so now. Um before that was in HR, so not even my first career. Um, but yes, I worked uh for various different organizations, so Perno Ricard, for BIC, for Hasbro, um and then Johnson ⁇ Johnson, um mostly in commercial account management roles. Um, but then in my last few years at Johnson ⁇ Johnson, I was actually uh leading the commercial strategy for quite a few of their major brands, so brands like Listerine, Avino, Neutrogena, um Clean and Clear, brands that kind of everyone would know and recognise. And then just over two years ago, I I joined GS1 UK. Um, and and that was for a very specific reason, and it's because there's this really exciting project that I uh was asked to lead, which is the the transition from barcodes as we know them today to um the next generation of barcodes, which are also called QR codes powered by GS1. Um, and we can talk a bit more about that later, but I guess the real driving factor was that I could I could see that they there was so much potential for it to solve so many of the challenges that we were facing into as a as brands. And I also recognised that there was a huge comms issue because I was leading all these brands and I had no idea it was happening. Um, and I thought, well, actually, you know, I've got some skills here that I can use to take a very technical topic and actually make it accessible to all the different types of people who might see value in this as a solution. And and for me, that was a lot about how I could use storytelling and really bring to get to life the benefits for business um rather than focusing on potentially the kind of more technical aspects of it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so that's a key bridge, isn't it, between technical detail which isn't irrelevant and clearly isn't important is an important thing, but actually making it relatable.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, very quickly.
SPEAKER_02:And that's an amazing skill to have. And I I would assume your um background working with brands and so on was was very much a a part of being able to and also HR really, you're dealing with people, brands, and how and how people behave with products and so on. So that's quite a fascinating mix of experience.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and really, you know, uh really unusual in this space, as you you can probably tell, and and I've have actually kind of grown quite a global presence um through this. Like you said, you saw me in Barcelona, and it's because people like actually, we need someone like you to come and speak who can actually speak to normal people uh about something that is normally quite a dry technical topic, um, which is standards. So, yeah, definitely an unusual skill set in this play space. And I think it's you know, I was really driven by purpose and wanting to have do a job that has impact. And this, by golly, it has impact. So that's got what got me really excited, and I think that's why I can focus so much on the end result, because I can see the potential here, and it's just about whether I can share that vision um in a way that really brings it to life and helps people all over the world understand it.
SPEAKER_02:Brilliant. So, for listeners, including myself to some extent too, who may not fully understand the full scope of GS1, um, would you could you perhaps describe what that means for organizations and and what what GS1 does and why actually global standards matter?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so um GS1 are a standards organization, and like we're most commonly known for the barcode. Okay, so the barcode's been around for over 50 years, and it was actually created through collaboration, through a group of retailers coming together and saying we need a solution for how we share data. And um and so we're a membership organization, we have we're we're we're actually all independent around the world, but we're part of a uh a federation. So you will find that there's a hundred and and don't quote me on the exact number, but I believe around 121 uh different membership organizations all over the world who all issue barcode numbers, uh, and that's why people tend to join us, but we also offer a whole bunch of other support to industry. Um, and and our standards fit into three different buckets, really. So it's around how we identify things, and when I say things, it could be um items, so the global trade item number, which is your barcode number, which people are most familiar with, but also locations, also um assets within a system. So it's how you know the numbering systems, the way we identify things, and then it's how we capture that information. So that information might be captured in a barcode, it might be captured in a QR code or an RFID tag, but it's how we capture it in a standardized way, and then how we share that information in the same structure. So a classic example of a sharing standard would be something like EDI. Now, the reason standards are important is because we don't operate in our own little bubble. Um, and if every organization came up with their own way of doing things, we'd find it really difficult for us to share information globally. So standards are like a global language that everyone speaks the same, all the systems speak the same. And so that if you want to transfer um information as we all do, really, in a global supply chain from one organization to another, you do that in a standardised way and everyone can understand it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. And and it's one of those things that we all see, we're all familiar with, but you don't really think what's behind it and the work that goes behind it and the importance of it. It's so it's it's quite quite revealing. And I didn't know GS1 was a an association, a federation, for instance. So that's that that that makes a lot of sense too.
SPEAKER_00:Well I I'd never even thought about it as someone who you know has worked in me to have 20 years, but but uh the only time I ever thought about barcodes was when I was launching a new product and I was trying to maybe um fill out a new line form, and I was like, give me the barcode number. And I I didn't even think about where that came from. And then um when when I actually thought about it, I was like, oh yeah, actually, someone does need to manage that globally, otherwise we'd have two numbers that matched. Um and and that that that that realization and and what that unlocked uh across the industry for many years, it's it's actually incredible.
SPEAKER_02:Um so therefore GS1 uh seems to sit at this crossroads really between brands, retailers, regulators, and also now increasingly, I suppose, technology providers. What are the biggest pressures or shifts you're seeing in perhaps how brands manage product information today? Because it's becoming increasingly important, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it is becoming increasingly important. And you're right, uh you know, our membership um actually is is hugely diverse in that we we can, you know, people join us to get their first 10 barcode numbers if they're trading on Amazon or something like that, right the way through to big organizations, um, you know, like Tesco, like Unilever, like Amazon. They they'll all be members of us. Um we also work in healthcare and we work in construction as well. So it's not just with the retail space, but three-quarters of our members from retail. That's that's kind of where we where we dominate for obvious reasons. Um but in terms of the the shifts that we're seeing, and we we bring this to retail um specifically. So the first one is consumer demand. So consumers are wanting more information than they ever have before about the products they're consuming, whether that's about um you know the allergens, the ingredients, the sustainable sourcing of that product, whether it's to authenticate that actually the thing they're buying is is genuine and from the producer they think they're buying it from, um, whether it's about how to recycle it or to repair it at the end of its life as well. So there's so many things that consumers now want to know about products. And then we're seeing another shift which, you know, super important is around sustainability. So, you know, we're living in a climate crisis, we have a net zero target to reach. Actually, you know, there's a lot of work that's gone into things like renewable energies and and you know, the cars and things like this, but actually, our retail supply chains still have a big way to go to to transition. And in order to get there, we need to have more visibility. We need to have more visibility of the carbon impact of those supply chains, but we also need to be reducing what where we can, we need to be reducing our packaging where we can, we need to be thinking about how products are treated at their end at the end of their life and how long their lives are. So there's a whole bunch of stuff within the sustainability space which is driving a demand for more data, frankly. Um and then the third pillar, which you know is really a combination of those two drivers, is regulation. So the industry does need regulation to help it, you know, meet these kind of sustainability standards and also to meet some of those consumer expectations. So we're seeing more and more regulation coming through, you know, particularly from the EU around things like EU deforestation, around um EU wine regulations for nutritional information, we're seeing digital product passport within uh apparel and homeware and products like that. Um, but there's also regulations all over the world that are popping up with similar similar objectives, really. Um, and then the last thing is just the digital the digitalization of shopping. And and you know, this has been happening for years, but if you think about it, the barcode has been around since before the internet. Um, so huge amounts have changed in that time, and it's been brilliant. Like, you know, it must have been ahead of its time for the fact that it's been so reliable for through all of that. But actually, we're now at a point where we're like that that space on pack can do more, and um we need it to do more. Uh and we're also um you know seeing this kind of real shift in in the shopper journey, we're seeing AI, um, agentic shopping, and that and that causes a whole load of challenges from a data perspective. Um, the brands are really grappling right with right now around how they structure their data in such a way that they you know can start to take more ownership of um of what is being communicated to consumers, because at the moment they're kind of losing control of that, people are kind of um subverting and not going directly to the brand's websites and things like that and and sourcing that information through large language models. How do we then gain back control of that as well? So there's there's a whole bunch of different shifts, but all of them are pointing to the same thing, which is we need more data, we need more information, but we also need smaller packs and and and and that's creating a crunch point, which is where we're now looking at that pack space and saying, well, how can we how can we do this better? And and ultimately that's what the next generation of barcodes is about. It's about saying, right, let's create a link now from this physical product to the digital world, then means that that we can you know make this one seamless journey um for the shopper, for regulators, for whoever it might be.
SPEAKER_02:Brilliant. So that's a fantastic kind of explanation that makes a huge amount of sense. And obviously it's exciting because it's a new thing. But before we carry on, could you explain what a next generation barcode is? I know there's a difference between a barcode and a QR code. Yeah. Is it as simple as that? And why is a QR code better?
SPEAKER_00:So it's not as simple as that. Um, so there are QR codes and then there are QR codes powered by GS1. So um a normal QR code will typically just take you straight to a web link. Um, it doesn't contain any additional data within that code. But actually, a QR code um can contain a lot more data. You can put up to 4,000 characters in a in a QR code, so huge amounts of potential there. Um what GS1 have done is created a standard which is called the digital link standard, and within that standard, there's a whole load of different um different guidelines, which we won't go into this that much detail. We have plenty of information on our website, but essentially there is a structure for the URL that means that you can add in the barcode number, the GTIN, and that will instantly turn your QR code into a barcode that has the potential to go beep at the till. Um, and then you can also add additional information beyond that. So you could add in things like country of origin, you can add in the weight of the product, the packaging materials, um, you can do version control for the artwork, but you can also add in things like the use by day and the batch number, which means that there's a whole lot of potential from a recall perspective for management of food waste and things like that as well. So there's a lot more data that we can put into a QR code powered by GS1 uh versus uh barcode and certainly versus a normal QR code.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean it's it's it's like opening up a vista of um information and opportunity for communication as well as um providing consumers with granular understanding of the origin of the product, but equally brands and retailers are a more intelligent way to manage and market their stocks. I can see it's it's huge. And what do you think? They're thinking about printing perhaps and packaging and converters. Um what are the key implications for them? Is it just a matter of printing something different, or is it more is there more to it than that? Is it something they should be clamoring for more information on to get themselves ready for it? Or what what were the implications for print?
SPEAKER_00:And absolutely, I mean, there's a there's a huge opportunity for this sector to really play a role in partnering with brands on this journey because it's a big it's a lot to get their heads around. If you think about it, the the process for a barcode today is generally managed by you know an administration function and and and potentially you know a converter or someone might be assisting with the artwork to make sure that the standards are being complied with as it goes on to the artwork. And then and then you're done because once your artwork's all signed off and you can be comfortable that it's um compliant, it's all good. But but as we move to QR, there's just so many more things to think about. And ultimately what you're suddenly doing is creating a gateway on that pack that links to all this digital environment, this digital source of information. So, you know, there's so many things that need to be thought about. So it's not just about the placement and you know the white space around it, but it's also about the quality, the print quality. Because you know, when you once you're putting more data into something, the density of that print uh increases. Um the chances of that, you know, if if something's a bit offset or you know, a bit blurred, um, that can cause real issues when it comes to scanning at point of sale because they are as important as a barcode now. And that's the thing that you need to think about. It's not just can I scan it with my phone, it's what's it gonna do at the till and will it still go fast at the till? Um, so you know, thinking about that kind of um all the standards in relation to that, and also how you verify the data. So, um, particularly through the transition, you're gonna have two codes on pack. So you're gonna have a barcode on pack and you're gonna have a QR code on pack, which also contains that same barcode number. Now, it is very easy because people aren't used to, particularly within you know, packaging, within uh design, might not be used to a QR code having all this information within it. They may think they can just copy and paste it from one um design to another. Um that can cause real issues with not having matching barcodes on the pack. So there's a whole load of new things that need to be thought about. And actually, I think you know, printers and converters are in a really great place to actually be advising their um their customers on this and to be supporting them potentially with verification and how they check those codes as it goes through the workflow. Um, there's also a whole piece around governance and and who's making sure that those links are maintained and going to the right places. So there's a bunch of new services that need to be delivered, and there's a question over who might deliver them, but I do think there's an opportunity for this industry to to offer up their services.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and and and the very least, be fully informed and under you know, understand the change, right? And and often change happens when when you know suddenly we notice it as consumers and it's changed and everything's moved and we start behaving and interacting differently. But actually the producers need to fully understand. I get that. Also, there's a there's a big shift and a big um movement around connected packaging. And that seems to be gaining a lot of momentum. The event I saw yet a couple of weeks ago focused on that. From your point of view, what potential do you see there really for brands and retailers for for for perhaps improving transparency, traceability, and sustainability? Is that something we're gonna see more of?
SPEAKER_00:So connected packaging is is quite a broad term, really. And it's it's really this concept of connecting a physical product to a digital world. So a QR code can do that, but also um we see things like RFID and NFC, and for different use cases, you might use one or other of those or a combination of those technologies. But if I talk to you about what I'm seeing in terms of the leading drivers for adoption, particularly of QR, but certainly some of those other technologies as well in the UK, and they fall into a few buckets. So, from a brand's perspective, the biggest driver, I would say, right now is consumer engagement. Um, so we already saw QR codes being used on PAC before we started making this transition, um, because people have recognised an opportunity to engage their consumer more, to give them more information about the product, potentially about the sustainability or about recipe ideas and things like that. Um but what we're seeing is that there's a real opportunity also around how you understand your consumer better through their behaviour on that QR code. And so when they're interacting with that product, they're generally either at the point of consideration on the shelf or they're in the home and they're using that product. And there's all kinds of insights that you can gain from what they're looking at, what they're interested in, and where they're clicking, basically, once they enter that code. So, or enter the digital link through that code. So there's a huge opportunity from a first-party data perspective. And if we see the fragmentation of um some of the traditional sources of information about your shopper and the traditional routes they might follow through media, actually, this is a real owned bit of media for the brand and actually quite cost-sufficient, really, um, compared to some of the retail media spends that you see. Um, and and you can personalize that experience more as well. And I think we'll see that more um with the developments in AI and the way that um that people are going to change the way they shop. And actually, uh what I envisage is there'll be a lot more of this kind of um, I guess like a chatbot kind of interaction where you ask a product questions and because the data's all sat behind it, then it can answer, you know, it will answer you those questions. So rather than necessarily you having to navigate through all these menus, that actually you'll be able to interact with products in a much more seamless way. So that's it from like the brand side or the biggest drive from a brand side. Um there's also a piece around accessibility. So we see this with brands like uh Unilever and Beyer, who are implementing accessible QR codes. And what those QR codes do is they actually enable you, if you're blind or partially sighted, to use an accessibility app to read that code from further away from the shelf. Um so you don't need to know exactly where the product is, and it can it can kind of navigate you in, tell you what the product uh category is, and tell you information about that bar of screen reader. So it's kind of reading that information out in an audio description. We've got about 315 million people uh globally who are blind or partially sighted, and you think about that as an access to a group of consumers and the value that those consumers can bring to your brand and the loyalty that they'll bring to your brand if you make your uh products more accessible to them. It's a huge commercial opportunity. So we're seeing we're seeing some brands really going after that and Unilever rolling those out across their whole global portfolio. So really exciting, and and I really hope that many, many more brands will see this opportunity to really make products accessible to more people through this rollout of QR. Um, and then from a retailer side, it's a bit of a different angle as you'd expect. So the retailers are really thinking about operational efficiencies and about how you can reduce food waste by having better visibility of what used by dates are being sold, but also thinking about traceability and recalls and being able to block the sale of either out-of-date products or products that have been recalled. Um, there's a huge potential around that kind of being able to show the farm-to-form journey of a product, the carbon footprint of a product. So that's really what we're seeing on the retailer side. Um, and then when we look to kind of fashion, it's slightly different again. And people are thinking about digital product passports and EU regulations, but also about uh the authenticity piece. So, how do we, you know, ensure those anti, you know, we we take measures against counterfeiting, against grey market stock? Um, there's a huge amount in that space as well. So lots around that, and that's before we even get onto sustainability. Um, and I, you know, the use case and sustainability are popping up all the time, and I think this is where we see the most innovation in this space. But you've got to think about um things like circular packaging, how do we track packaging through a system, how do we provide more information about the materials that have gone into that packaging to make it easier for them to be recycled as they go through those centres? Also, how do we communicate better with consumers about how to recycle items and how to recycle their packaging, you know, where the loc latest the local um centre might be for recycling those things? So there's a lot of opportunity there. Um and like I said, this kind of end-of-life part around well, what about reuse, repurpose, what about um reselling, what about um uh reusing, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I I I I think really what what you brilliantly explained there, explained the breadth of the change is so significant that we're really quite early in the journey. And uh we talked a little early before we press record around sort of how things change socially. It's it's often I guess on the commercial side where others see commercial advantage, exploited by a a leading brand that is um gaining more business in essence, um and or regulation and or like you say, concerns around concerns around sort of authenticity of product and um a granular understanding of the the origin of the product. So it's lots of different sort of social triggers, I suppose, that will suddenly come into play, I I would imagine. Um and and I can see in in the future, you know, people using social media showing what what's good perhaps and sometimes what's not so good. And that tends to accelerate things. It's a phenomenal um universe, in a way, isn't it? That that's gonna be opening up, I would imagine, with this change. Um and I've learned a lot from listeners yourself because I haven't really fully fully computed the significance of it. So it's it's actually really quite an exciting potential out there, isn't it, for for new things, for creativity, for for for improvement in how products are made and how they're and how they're sold. So I think I think it's um it's quite incredible. I appreciate that that explanation. So with with GS1's role in the future, do you see it evolving or changing or or because you're really leading the education around this and also you're you're creating the actual codes themselves, right? That I guess GS1 will just continue to grow and grow with this change. Do you see that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, our I guess our goal isn't you know expansion, we're a not-for-profit, we're not here to kind of um to to really that's not really the goal. I think what um, but I think it will happen naturally in that if you think about where the barcodes used to kind of sit in the it in businesses and and and how it was treated, and I guess the the what it did, it's just a very functional thing that kind of was more of an administrative role, potentially, to allocate a barcode number to something, to suddenly this um this foundational tool that unlocks so many different other things. And and it really is then shifting, naturally shifting the role of GS1 and the visibility of GS1. And I I think that you know, if I look at what I do and the role that I play, I'm going out and I'm engaging all kinds of different functions because if you look at those use cases, you can sort of understand that right. I could be engaging with people from marketing, with people from packaging, um, supply chain, regulatory compliance, um like IT, obviously, sustainability. Like the list goes on and on. So suddenly you go from maybe a few people in supply chain who've heard of GS1 to suddenly, well, it touches on every team in the business. So the awareness of who we are and what we do is is is growing and will continue to grow. But ultimately, as we become more digital and as products and packaging becomes more digital, like the need for standards becomes like so much more important because we can't do this and we can't be interoperable globally without standards, without that international language. And I think what's really interesting is that with um particularly with AI and the adoption of AI, that this becomes even more critical, this structure of the data and the structuring of it in the same way. So that these kind of models are are collecting gathering information in the sandbice way as well. I think there's a there's a huge opportunity there. We also see this this need for traceability, which we never really had before. Um, and so again, traceability, you're talking about passing data from different, you know, business to business, basically. So, right from the farm through the factory to the fork. That's a lot of different stakeholders that need to be passing data. So that data needs to be structured in a standardized way, otherwise that process doesn't work. So our role becomes pivotal and and and essential really to this transformation of the industry. Um, but yes, our goal is not to, you know, commercially grow, but the awareness of it's very much to facilitate the industry. Um, but our uh the importance of us as facilitators becomes more and more key.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. Amazing. I uh I thanks so much for joining. I've really uh uh I learned a huge amount of myself, so everybody listening has too. And yeah, I think we should have you back as well. We talked a lot about um other you know some of the some of the books we boot into Malcolm Gladwell, Jeffrey Moore, et cetera. I think that would be really interesting to have you back and talk a little bit about that. So thanks so much for joining us, Camilla. Really appreciate your time and providing that tremendous insight.
SPEAKER_00:You're welcome. And I really hope, you know, as as we kicked off this call and I explained why I ended up doing this and and you know how exciting I found it, and and hopefully, you know, you've gained a bit of flavor for that. I feel like you have, I feel like you've ended this going, yeah, I get it now. Um, and that is my goal is that that people see the the future. I guess the the caveat is that you can get overwhelmed. There's so many different things you can. Can do, there's so much potential. Actually, the fundamental thing we need to do first is start getting these QR codes on pack. Um, we can do much of the other stuff once that foundation is in place. And I think this community, the print community, plays a huge role in getting that right and getting those foundations right. So try not to be overwhelmed. Um, yes, it's exciting, yes, there's so much potential, but actually the foundations, um, you know, we have the standards, we're ready to go. We just need the support to get them implemented now.
SPEAKER_02:Brilliant. And and um you're obviously on LinkedIn and what's the website for GS1?
SPEAKER_00:Um, well, GS1UK is uh gs1uk.org, um, but there is a website for every GS1 around the world, I believe. And there's also gs1.org, which is the global federation. Um, and yes, as you probably are aware, that my my LinkedIn operates as a bit of a uh a regular news feed of what's going on in the QR space and the new uh use cases and who's putting what on pack. So um please do follow me, and I'm happy to happy to help anyone who needs any additional information or support.
SPEAKER_02:Brilliant. Excellent conversation with you, Camilla. Appreciate you joining us and look forward to perhaps recording another one in the future. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, you can subscribe now for more great audio content coming up. And visit futureprint.tech for the latest news, partner interviews, in-depth industry research, and to catch up on content from future print events. We'll see you next time on the FuturePrint Podcast.
