Dive Brief:
- Diageo's Crown Royal brand is the first alcoholic beverage shipped in the U.S. to have nutritional information on the product's packaging.
- More than a decade ago, Diageo approached the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) about permission to post voluntary nutritional information on alcoholic beverages, and in 2013, TTB granted that permission for serving info. In March, the company announced it would begin posting nutritional information either on its products' packaging and/or on its responsible drinking website drinkiq.com.
- Cases will first be sold in stores in the New York and Washington metropolitan areas, but most Crown Royal sold in the U.S. is expected to feature the nutritional info by 2016.
Dive Insight:
"Diageo has cited a 2014 study that found 86% of U.S. alcohol consumers agreed that serving fact labels would provide useful information," Fortune reported.
Diageo was the company behind the push to secure permission for nutrition fact labeling. This could be the first of several spirits and even beer or wine companies to begin posting nutrition facts on their labels as they follow Diageo's lead in giving consumers not only the products they want, but also the growing request for information.