Diageo’s brand pioneers the use of Serving Facts, the alcohol beverage equivalent of the Nutrition Facts, on its packaging.
Where would we be without the Nutrition Facts on foods and most beverages? I write “most” because alcohol products haven’t had one…until now. Diageo announced on October 6 that it has begun shipping cases of Crown Royal whisky that include the panel detailing serving size, number of servings per container, alcohol by volume, number of calories and grams of carbohydrates, protein and fat per serving – and the US Dietary Guidelines definition of a standard drink.
Some will say “it’s about time,” without knowing that providing this information hasn’t been the fault of the packaged goods providers. That and other interesting facts about this development:
- Until a recent ruling by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), beverage alcohol manufacturers were not allowed to list these basic serving facts on most labels of alcohol products in the U.S.
- U.S. Dietary Guidelines define a standard drink as 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol.
- Diageo has provided serving facts information about its brands on its DRINKiQ (www.DRINKiQ.com) website since 2006.
- Diageo will continue to add and revamp this information to its labeling and packaging as brands change or update their labels.
- A 2014 study conducted by FoodMinds LLC found that 86% of U.S. alcohol consumers agree that serving facts labels that include the 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol per drink definition provide useful and relevant information.
“We are proud to take this latest step in the decade-long effort of our company, and that of the more than 70 consumer and public health groups that stood with us in support of labeling in 2003,” says Guy Smith, EVP, Diageo North America, who has been working on this issue for more than a decade. “And we are grateful to the TTB [in] allowing the industry to give consumers the information they have been asking for.”
Packaging Digest welcome’s hearing your thoughts about this development in the comment box below.
