ELEVATING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES BY CREATING PARTNERSHIPS

For over 150 years, Barilla has been a pioneer in the consumable packaged goods industry, known for its dedication to diversity and inclusivity. In recent years, the company has been seeking ways to make its packaging more accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. While they evaluated numerous potential solutions, they all required significant modifications to their packaging, which naturally meant a hefty investment.

That’s where we came in.

Senspoint is a global creative, marketing, and strategic agency committed to helping those whose work makes the world more accessible and sustainable. With a solid track record of helping companies and organizations find accessible solutions, we are well-positioned to find the best and most effective ways for your brand to shine.

We go above and beyond to ensure that our clients’ needs and goals are met. Therefore, once we got to know Barilla’s packaging challenge, we:

  • Put our heads together to strategize and think of potential solutions
  • Leveraged our “C3” network: clients, colleagues, and contacts to derive the best solution
  • Connected–our client–Barilla, to another one of our clients: Be My Eyes

Be My Eyes is a global volunteer-based service that assists blind or visually impaired users through video calls via a smartphone app. When we introduced Barilla to Be My Eyes, the company saw it as a solution for visually impaired people. However, through Senspoint’s ingenious strategy, Barilla quickly recognized that Be My Eyes could also benefit many other customers across various use cases and applications.

In fact, nearly 50% of Barilla call center calls are from customers requesting help reading the expiration date on their products. With Be My Eyes, representatives can view the actual package and provide the expiration date, saving time and improving efficiency. Customers also frequently use Be My Eyes to ask if pasta looks ready, and people who don’t have their glasses at hand often call to read cooking instructions.

“Access to good, nutritious food and educational resources to create healthy meals is fundamental to who we are,” said Laura Birk, Vice President of Human Resources for Barilla Americas. “Barilla is honored to be the first food company to partner with Be My Eyes and join their inspiring efforts to make the world more accessible for blind and low-vision people each and every day.”

“Food insecurity is probably the most important single issue for the blind community,” said Will Butler, Be My Eyes Vice President. “Barilla is leading the way and ensuring that the visually impaired have access to all the information they need about what they’re putting in their bodies. For that, we truly applaud them.”

Through this collaboration, Barilla leveraged the power of technology to make their packaging more accessible, thus enhancing the customer experience for people with visual impairments and beyond. Now, thanks to Senspoint’s innovative strategy and extensive network, Barilla has a turnkey partner to work with to create significantly more accessible packaging.

But we didn’t stop there. Our creative team worked hand-in-hand with Barilla’s packaging team to print QR codes in a universal spot on ten of their most popular pasta products: Barilla Classic Penne, Spaghetti, Farfalle, Rotini, Rigatoni, Tri-Color Rotini, Thin Spaghetti, Fettuccini, Angel Hair and Linguine. Now, in one easy step, consumers can use their smartphone camera to scan the QR code on top of the Barilla pasta box and will be instantly connected to Barilla experts through the Be My Eyes app. Once there, they can request any visual information they wish, such as information on pasta cuts, recipes, cooking instructions, expiration dates, or other visual product questions.

In the future, Barilla plans to launch QR codes on many more products in the U.S. and throughout the world, thus fully integrating their accessible packaging into the marketplace.

We are proud to have played a pivotal role in this partnership and to continue paving the way for other companies to follow suit in making the world more accessible and sustainable for all. This was a win-win-win for Barilla, Be My Eyes, and consumers.

If it’s time to elevate your brand, we will gladly leverage our extensive network for the good of everyone involved. Contact us today, and let’s start a conversation.