Varcode

Pioneering the world’s first and only variable barcode-based temperature monitoring solution, Varcode is changing how the food and beverages (F&B) sector manages its cold chain. Its smart and low-cost data solution is designed to track and trace temperature excursions, a prevalent challenge with wide-ranging impacts like increased food wastage and illnesses caused by undesirable bacterial growth. Varcode’s adeptness goes beyond the F&B space, as its solution also applies to the healthcare and pharma industries.

At the heart of Varcode’s revolutionary solution is its patented Smart Tag^™, which enables low-cost, multi-point ‘track and trace’ of product temperatures throughout the supply chain. Comprising multiple unique layers, the Smart Tag^™ is a dynamic barcode label designed to record temperature excursions by irreversibly changing the black and white lines based on time and temperature.

Each Smart Tag^™ contains a small reservoir of specially formulated and biodegradable ink. When the temperature reaches the Smart Tag’s predetermined threshold temperature, the ink melts, and the liquid ink diffuses over a visual layer, which forms scanner-readable, standard 1D barcodes. Customers can set time intervals to indicate how long the product remained over the alerting temperature. The beauty of the Smart Tag^™ solution lies in its simplicity: the Smart Tag^™ turns an analog, physics-based process (diffusion at a predictable rate over time) into a digitally readable barcode that records temperature excursions. Each Smart Tag^™ has a unique serial number; there is no need for expensive and polluting batteries, and any barcode scanner or smartphone can read the barcode to receive instant results.

In parallel to the Smart Tag^™, Varcode provides a configurable cloud-based system that keeps real-time records of each scan along the supply chain. Shippers have access to an online dashboard and can analyze the data to take action to improve their cold chain.

“We record the date, time, time over temperature and geolocation for every Smart Tag^™ scan. All this data is uploaded in real time to our cloud-based data platform, from which we can trigger alert messages,” says Dirk Van Peteghem, CEO of Varcode.

Typical color-changing temperature indicators only provide a visual indication of a temperature excursion. They are open to subjective interpretation by the recipient, which often causes confusion or wrong interpretation. This, in turn, can lead to large volumes of customer service calls, creating more confusing customer experiences since there is no data record to inspect. Flipping this script, the Varcode Smart Tag^™ solution provides companies with a cloud-stored, immutable temperature excursion record immediately available to both the recipient and the shipper upon completing a scan. The Varcode solution leads to a better customer experience and generates actionable data.

Beyond communicating precise temperature data on the smartphone screen of the recipient, the Smart Tag^™ solution can also deliver brand marketing messages about new products, loyalty program rewards and discount coupons to customers who scan the barcode. It is an effective customer engagement platform that provides significantly higher engagement rates than traditional email marketing campaigns because the consumers are highly motivated to scan the barcode and view the result on the smartphone screen.

From a compliance standpoint, Varcode’s solution helps customers adhere to 21 CFR 205.50, which outlines the minimum requirements for the storage and handling of prescription drugs, which includes provisions for temperature monitoring during transport.

One illustrative application of Varcode’s innovation and flexibility is in the space of direct-to-consumer wine shipments. Wine is sensitive to temperatures over 25°C, and verifying the contents of this expensive commodity is difficult. Despite extra insulative packaging being used during summer shipments, consumers cannot ascertain its quality without opening a bottle. With the Varcode Smart Tag^™, consumers and shippers receive actionable data by simply scanning a barcode to confirm whether the wine is fine to consume or has potentially been exposed to damaging temperatures during the transportation from the wine retailer to the consumer.

The unique and patent-protected technological innovation in the Varcode Smart Tag^™ is one of many reasons Van Peteghem joined Varcode in 2023. Before Varcode, Van Peteghem held executive positions at UPS in Cold Chain Logistics, Product Innovation and Customer Experience. His 12 years at UPS and earlier positions at McKesson, CapGemini and BCG gave him a great perspective of what is possible when a motivated and highly capable group of people work to develop and grow a breakthrough product innovation that delivers immediate customer value. Varcode’s international team is committed to supporting cold chains across the F&B industry to ensure food safety for end consumers and reduce waste for F&B producers and shippers.