Northbrook, Illinois-based Barilla is expanding its partnership with Be My Eyes, a platform that provides live audio and visual support for blind and visually impaired consumers, by incorporating QR codes on the packaging of 10 of Barilla’s most popular classic pasta offerings.
In 2021, Barilla became the first food company to partner with Be My Eyes, enabling shoppers to connect with company experts through smartphone cameras.
Now, Barilla and Be My Eyes are expanding accessibility to pasta products for those in need of visual assistance. The new QR codes will rollout this month on boxes of Classic Penne, Spaghetti, Farfalle, Rotini, Rigatoni, Tri-Color Rotini, Thin Spaghetti, Fettuccini, Angel Hair and Linguine.
“Ensuring our consumers have access to quality resources that allow them to better understand our products is incredibly important,” said Laura Birk, VP of human resources.
“Be My Eyes has proven to be a helpful and important resource for pasta shoppers, supporting Barilla’s mission to make our products widely accessible to all. We are excited to be on the cutting edge of developments in our industry to increase accessibility for individuals with visual assistance needs.”
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.
“Every day, thousands of people with visual challenges rely on Be My Eyes to live their lives independently,” said Hans Jørgen Wiberg, founder. “Barilla is taking an unprecedented step to support their blind/low-vision customers by adding QR codes to their packaging. No matter the question, Barilla is one scan and click away from providing visual assistance to consumers.”
For more information about the partnership, visit bemyeyes.com/blog/barilla.
