Grocer Editorial
New Program, New Technology, Lining the Aisles
At some point, the public markets and general stores of our early cities evolved into the all-purpose grocery stores of today. With the advent of mass distribution, the growth of the supermarket, convenient store, warehouse, hypermarket and wholesale club blossomed. Consumers today know their town's grocery stores the way hunter-gatherers must have come to understand tracks in the woods: aisles are plotted out and columns of products line the aisles in a nearly primal configuration of brands and food genres. The consumer develops a pattern in shopping, one aisle to the next, needing few clues to remember where needed items are located.
We have come to take for granted this ease of shopping and product location among those who buy our products and frequent our stores. Yet access to information about consumer goods brands is not equal among the population. There are approximately 10 to 11 million blind and visually impaired people in North America, including 1.3 million who are legally blind and 5.5 million who are over 65 years old. As it stands, these entire populations are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing information about consumer brands products - and this affects brand recognition, ease of shopping, and product loyalty.
A new national program, Labels for Literacy, is entering the consumer products scene and grocery stores across the country. The program has the mission to place Braille labels on mainstream products in order to increase the usage and understanding of Braille and to bring equality of access to brand and product information. The program is made possible by a new technology that applies a clear epoxy printed onto paper and creates durable Braille on the page. Unlike traditionally embossed Braille, that is expensive and time consuming to produce, this new technology is comparatively inexpensive and extraordinarily efficient.
The Labels for Literacy program calls upon consumer goods companies to endorse the program. Labels for Literacy will print and distribute nationwide, large volumes of adhesive labels for each company that participates. Each brand that participates has the product information of items of their choice printed in Braille and in large-print on these labels. Packages of labels are sent out to blind and visually impaired people across the country. Once these labels are in the hands of consumers, they can place the appropriate labels on their food packages and can, from that point on, be certain of what products they are using. Labels for Literacy affords consumer packaged goods organizations the opportunity to advertise and communicate their brands identity on an equal basis to all consumers. The names and logos of participating consumer goods companies are broadcast on shelf-talkers, aisle posters, and media advertising, affording them a large degree of exposure to all audiences.
In addition to enhancing the equality of access to brand information, Labels for Literacy has an equal mission of promoting literacy among the blind and visually impaired. As it stands, literacy rates among these populations are extremely low. This is due largely to the lack of Braille materials that are available to visually impaired populations. Putting Braille out there for more children and adults to read will tackle this problem proactively, and create the possibility for literacy to be bolstered on a daily basis.
Labels for Literacy invites consumer goods companies and grocery stores to inquire further about its programs, missions and incentives. As the campaign gathers momentum, it is clear that Labels for Literacy will be lining the aisles and packaging of our stores and products. For more information, call (866) 325-2235.
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