Introduction: Traceability meets transformation
In today’s global market—shaped by transparency, compliance, and rising customer demands—product traceability is no longer optional. Whether you’re safeguarding consumer safety, complying with strict regulatory requirements, or preventing counterfeits, your packaging must carry more than branding. It must deliver accurate product data, enable immediate access to digital information, and connect with your supply chain partners in real time.
That’s exactly what Digital Link for product traceability does. Built on the GS1 Digital Link standard, it transforms a traditional barcode into a dynamic QR code that connects physical products to brand-owned web pages, digital content, and online sources of trusted information. A simple scan with a mobile device can reveal everything from global trade item number (GTIN) details and serial numbers to expiry date, batch number, and quality control reports.
For brand owners, it’s a way to strengthen brand loyalty, protect brand integrity, and maintain regulatory compliance while delivering supply chain traceability information to both trading partners and consumers. The benefits span supply chain efficiency, improved safety, and future proofing your operations for evolving regulatory requirements.
What is Digital Link and how does it enable product traceability?
A Digital Link is a standards-based structure that encodes a brand-owned web address into a data carrier like a dynamic QR code. When applied to packaging or the product itself, it becomes a web-enabled bridge that connects physical products to online information.
The same code can redirect users to different link types depending on context:
- A supply chain operations team may access inventory management records, product identifiers, and specific data for logistics.
- Consumers can view product safety instructions, food safety details, and expiration date in their preferred language.
- Retailers can check serial numbers, confirm regulatory compliance, or retrieve quality control results instantly.
This creates enhanced traceability and greater transparency across industries, ensuring digital experiences are adapted for every stakeholder.
How to create a Digital Product Passport with Digital Link
If you’re preparing for the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) or want better traceability solutions, Digital Link makes the process straightforward:
Step 1: Enter your Global Trade Item Number to validate the product in GS1 systems.
Step 2: Select the Digital Product Passport template—preloaded with compliance fields for regulatory requirements and product data.
Step 3: Populate it with digital information like accurate product data, regulatory compliance documents, and quality control certificates.
Step 4: Build a brand-owned web page to improve consumer engagement with digital content, product photos, web links, and videos.
Step 5: Customize the design—updates appear instantly without changing packaging.
By integrating into current systems, the DPP enhances supply chain traceability, improves efficiency, and delivers immediate access to product data for all supply chain partners.
Real-world use cases of Digital Link in product traceability
Traveling Pendants: Wearable storytelling with enhanced traceability
Traveling Pendants turns QR codes into wearable narratives. Each pendant carries a GS1 Digital Link QR engraved on its surface, connecting a physical product to a brand-owned web page where users can read and add stories. This merges consumer engagement with digital content, proving that traceability solutions can strengthen brand loyalty even outside traditional supply chain operations.
Treat Street: Humor and high engagement in seasonal campaigns
Novelty confectionery brand Treat Street uses Digital Link to connect physical products to digital experiences that drive consumer interactions. Known for their “Perfect Man” chocolate, the brand adapts QR-linked campaigns for each season, meeting customer demands while maintaining regulatory compliance across multiple retail partners—boosting supply chain efficiency and brand integrity.
Good Ventures: Streamlined mass QR code creation and shopper engagement
UK-based Good Ventures, makers of certified organic beauty products, integrated Digital Link to handle large-scale, accurate product data management. By linking every SKU to a brand-owned web page, they ensure immediate access to digital information for shoppers, retailers, and supply chain partners, improving quality control and inventory management without disrupting current systems.
Zoé Water: Opening a direct-to-consumer channel
Premium alkaline water brand Zoé Water leveraged Digital Link for product traceability to connect bottles directly to a brand-owned web address. A simple scan with a mobile device gives consumers accurate product data on filtration processes, expiry date, and health benefits, while giving the brand valuable consumer interactions data to strengthen brand loyalty.
Salssa: Smart packaging for athletes
Sports nutrition brand Salssa uses GS1 Digital Link to ensure product safety and consumer trust. Each product’s QR delivers specific data like ingredient sourcing, expiration date, and usage instructions—accessible on any mobile device. This enables enhanced traceability and supports regulatory compliance for patient safety in performance nutrition.
NIFA: Giving a voice to Ireland’s fishermen
The National Inshore Fishermen’s Association connects physical products—fresh catches—to brand-owned web pages telling the story of each fisher. This builds consumer engagement, promotes greater transparency, and ensures accurate product data for food safety and regulatory compliance, benefiting both trading partners and local communities.
ALQVIMIA: Branding and digital transparency in luxury cosmetics
Holistic cosmetics pioneer ALQVIMIA adopted Digital Link to connect every item to a brand-owned web portal with digital content on ingredients, sustainability practices, and certifications. This supports regulatory requirements and quality control while meeting customer demands for greater transparency and online information.
Canigooil: The first connected olive oil
Premium olive oil producer Canigooil launched the first fully connected bottle using GS1 Digital Link. Each QR provides immediate access to origin details, product identifiers, and accurate product data on cultivation and quality checks. The result is strengthened brand loyalty, compliance with food safety regulations, and a future proofing approach to traceability solutions in a competitive market.
Beyond traceability: Added benefits of Digital Link
✔ Seamless integration
Works with current systems—GTINs, PIMs, ERPs—without disrupting supply chain operations.
✔ Built-in marketing and analytics
Track consumer interactions, scan location, language, and timing for data sharing and improving brand loyalty.
✔ Contextual content delivery
Show specific data based on user role: compliance info for regulators, AR tutorials for customers, inventory management data for staff.
✔ Sustainability and packaging efficiency
Reduce packaging waste with digital updates, meeting regulatory compliance goals while improving supply chain efficiency.
Conclusion: Build trust with every scan
Digital Link for product traceability unites physical products, digital information, and accurate product data under a standards-based structure. It enables greater transparency, immediate access to specific data, and ensures regulatory compliance while fostering consumer trust.
Whether you’re enhancing consumer engagement, streamlining supply chain operations, or ensuring product safety through quality control, the same code serves every purpose—from product identifiers and expiration date checks to rich digital experiences that strengthen brand integrity.
This is more than a traditional barcode upgrade—it’s a future proofing investment in traceability solutions that meet today’s customer demands and tomorrow’s regulations.
Start your journey now: one scan is all it takes.
