European producers of alcoholic spirits have delivered on the 'second milestone commitment' requiring them to provide energy information on the labels of a growing share of spirits sold in the EU.
According to a Progress Report released by trade association spiritsEUROPE, the sector ensured that by the end of 2021, around half of bottles already feature such information, a share that is set to rise to 66% by the end of this year.
In parallel, the sector also reported progress in developing bespoke digital consumer information tools.
'The Sector Is On Track'
The commitment forms part of a multi-annual, voluntary Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Consumer Information that was facilitated by the European Commission in 2019.
The MoU provides spirit drinks producers with guidance on how certain information should be displayed on spirits labelling.
Commenting on the progress, Ulrich Adam, director general of spiritsEUROPE, said, "Despite the difficult market environment and tremendous challenges over the last two years, we are proud to report that the sector is on track in delivering on our labelling commitments and providing European consumers with the information they are looking for.
"Since 2019, more and more trade associations have signed up to the MoU and we are proud to announce today that 59 mid-sized and small distillers from across Europe have signed the MoU and will start rolling out labels in line with this commitment. This shows that the approach is working."
Innovations In Spirits Industry
Progress has also been made by the spirits industry in providing digital consumer information.
In December 2021, www.U-Label.com was launched, a consumer-friendly electronic-labelling platform that enables consumers across Europe to access information via QR code technology about the wine and spirits products they purchase, in their own language.
U-Label is an innovation made possible through a collaboration between the European wine association CEEV and spiritsEUROPE.
In five months, more than 30 spirits producers have registered to U-label, having generated more than 400 e-labels.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Drinks news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
