INTERACTIVE PACKAGING


fleeting moment of purchase into an ongoing relationship.


The shift in action At Nestlé’s Global R&D confectionery portfolio, overseeing KitKat, Quality Street, and Smarties, Stefan led the charge on connected packaging when it was genuinely novel. KitKat’s collaboration with Google Android created one of the first instances where a wrapper doubled as a media channel rather than simply carrying a barcode. Parallel innovations such as personalised bars made to order, with names and messages printed directly on the pack, demonstrated how connected packaging could turn a £1 impulse buy into


THE WRAPPER USED TO END THE CONVERSATION. TODAY ITS AIM SHOULD BE TO START ONE


a gifted, personal object. According to Appetite Creative’s 2026 Global Connected Packaging Survey


the market has decisively crossed the mainstream threshold. 81.2% of survey respondents are now actively using connected packaging – up from 72.6% just a year earlier. This demonstrates that this is no longer just experimentation, instead it is becoming standard practice. When adoption crosses 80%, the conversation shifts from ‘should we do this?’ to ‘how should our approach compare to competitors?’ More recently, a collaboration with


Zappar – a provider of augmented reality (AR) solutions – and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), used Accessible QR codes for KitKat multipacks and Quality Street tins to


AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2026 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • 49


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