Like other e-label providers, Bottlebooks generates a unique short code when you create an
e-label. This ensures that the correct information is displayed when the consumer scans the
QR code.
However, it is yet another ID that you have to track and manage. This changes today. Bottlebooks can now generate a QR code using your GTIN. Thanks to GS1 Digital Link technology, our customers can create unique QR codes for individual vintages or bottlings without having to manage yet another ID.
This has several important benefits:
Absolute certainty that the right QR code is on the right label because the GTIN is in the QR code.
Simplified management of QR code files because they have the same base ID as your barcodes.
Potential savings on printing, as you can easily print labels for multiple vintages long before they are produced.
GS1 Digital Link will bring further benefits in the coming weeks and years as retailers roll out the technology worldwide. The next benefits for Bottlebooks users will be:
Register your wines for ProWein by scanning your QR code instead of filling out the form (yes, we know not many wines will have QR codes by March).
Publish your information on Wine-Searcher or fill in key details for IWSC without filling in a form.
Enable retailers to download your information directly into their online shop.
The GS1 Digital Link standard is the new global standard for barcodes and is managed by GS1. As such, it is a non-proprietary, future-proof standard for creating QR codes for food products.
What is a GS1 Digital Link?
A GS1 Digital Link is simply a QR code with a URL that follows a specific format. It contains your product's GTIN/barcode and a unique identifier. The unique identifier can be anything: the year, the lot ID or a random number. When QR codes follow this format, they can be scanned by cash registers and other barcode scanners. More and more retailers will support this in the coming years as part of the global Sunrise 2027 initiative. When devices that support GS1 Digital Link scan these QR codes, they can access additional information. This can include everything from marketing to production to logistics. Consumers don't see any difference - they still see the required nutritional and packaging information as required by EU regulations.
Success story in Austria
Bottlebooks is a Solution Partner of GS1 Austria. Winzer Krebs and Weingut Angerhof Tschida were among the pilot wineries to implement Digital Link QR codes, making their wines the first in the market to be web-enabled with GS1 Digital Links. Thanks to our cooperation with the largest label printer in Austria, Marzek Etiketten+Packaging, most Austrian wines will be web-enabled as early as 2024!
GS1 Bulgaria has also recommended Bottlebooks as the preferred supplier for wineries in Bulgaria.
How does it work with Bottlebooks?
GS1 Digital Link is now the default option in Bottlebooks when creating QR codes. You can continue using randomized short codes by simply ticking the box "I don't have a GTIN. Create a random code instead."
A GS1 Digital Link is a QR code with a URL that follows a specific pattern.
Start now your e-labels: https://elabels.bottlebooks.me/elabels