As QR codes reach critical mass in the world of marketing, they are spilling over into other industries and ventures. The codes are finding their way into just about every situation, including sustainability. Specialty seafood retailer Handy has adopted traceable QR codes for their new artisanal fish program for restaurants. Handy has a reputation being meticulous about its products, making extraordinary effort to ensure quality and freshness. The company’s new program is designed to show consumers where its supply of grouper comes from and what was done to it after it had been caught.
Part of the goal of the program is to promote sustainability by encouraging restaurants to purchase fish acquired through environmentally friendly methods. Handy hopes that by adding some transparency to the fishing business people will be more inclined to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. When restaurants purchase grouper from Handy, they are given a QR code that can be posted to their menus. When these codes are scanned by consumers, they will be able to find information about the fish and how it was caught and prepared.
This is not the first time QR codes have been used to identify fresh fish. The codes have been used to track fish in Nagasaki, Japan, for several years. These codes are used to give consumers information on the fish in the area and inform them how these fish were caught.