Dutch retailer Albert Heijn has introduced a new ‘Scan Your Egg’ feature in its app that allows customers to receive information about the origin of the egg they are looking at.
The app allows customers to scan the code on the egg with a mobile phone to find out which chicken laid the egg and who the poultry farmer is.
According to the retailer, the feature “brings customers and farmers closer together and gives farmers the opportunity to share their stories behind the chickens and their eggs.”
Food and product traceability has become increasingly important for both consumers and producers with several studies indicating that consumers are willing to pay more for traceable products.
The World Economic Forum previously noted that “if used correctly, end-to-end traceability enabled by technology could be a powerful tool to create tangible benefits for businesses, consumers, governments, producers and civil society.”
How does it work?
Customers can now scan the code on the egg from the AH app with their mobile phone. The scan function is available in the Beta corner in the AH app. The Beta corner can be found under the profile icon at the top right of the app.
The feature was developed by Albert Heijn’s own AH Technology Labs’ team which tests new initiatives to improve services in food and technology. Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, reporting over a third of the market share in 2020.
