Guinness becomes first global beer brand to provide consumers with on-label alcohol and nutritional content

4 Jul 2017 | Press release

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Diageo expand nutritional labeling initiative to Ireland's number one selling beer

Tuesday 4 July 2017:  Guinness is the first global beer brand to provide Irish consumers with full on-label nutritional information and alcohol content with the expansion of the Diageo labelling initiative to 500ml Guinness cans in the Republic of Ireland.  The new labels, designed to help consumers understand what''s in their glass, provide consumers with nutritional information on contents including calories, carbohydrates, protein and sugar as well as grams of alcohol per serve and warnings on drink driving and consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Guinness is the first global beer brand to provide consumers with this information, in a major expansion by Diageo of the hugely successful consumer led initiative that was rolled out in Ireland last year on Smithwicks. This expansion is part of Diageo''s commitment to their consumers to provide them with information that will empower them to make informed choices on what they drink.

All 500ml Guinness can labels will contain warnings on drink driving and consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Consumers will also see the that a 500ml can of Guinness contains 17 grams of alcohol along with nutritional information.

Guinness_Draught_Can_500ml

The equivalent information will also be provided for a 100ml serve. The labelling is part of the Diageo Consumer Information Standards (DCIS) launched last year and which will be rolled out on all Diageo products in Ireland in the next 12 months. Diageo developed the DCIS based on in-depth research of more than 1500 consumers around the world, to ensure the label designs reflected the way consumers want to receive - and can understand - information on alcohol content.

Diageo Ireland Country Director Mr. Oliver Loomes said "Irish consumers want to make informed choices and increasingly they want to know what''s in their glass. At Diageo, we take enormous pride in our ability to listen to our consumers and bring them the great products they enjoy with the clear, concise and accurate information they can use to make the right choice for them.

"The new Guinness labels are part of our on-going commitment to engaging with and empowering Diageo consumers so they have the tools to make positive and informed choices about what they drink. While this is a global standard and will eventually feature across all brands in all markets the decision to expand to Guinness 500ml cans means that almost 40% of the Irish beer market will be covered by the new labelling standard, making Ireland a market leader in this regard."

The Diageo consumer research found that as well as good design, which is key to how information is found and understood, consumers preferred information on alcohol per serve, calories per serve, sugar content, allergens and brand facts.

Diageo has made a global commitment to provide locally accurate additional consumer information on its labels in all the markets it operates in, making it the first global alcohol company to offer such information.

The new consumer standard is now also available on Smithwicks, Johnnie Walker Red Label, and on Diageo''s new Irish Whiskey, Roe&Co. Diageo Ireland hopes the labelling standards which were launched last year  will be rolled out across the entire portfolio over the next 12 months.

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    About Diageo

    Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan''s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

    Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

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    Editors Notes:

    Diageo Research

    Diageo developed the DCIS based on in-depth research of more than 1500 consumers around the world, including people from North America, Great Britain, Mexico and Spain, to ensure the label designs reflected the way consumers want to receive – and can understand – information on alcohol content. Those surveyed said that when too much information (especially small text) is placed on the label they tend to ignore it all, and less information, clearly presented was a consistent request across all markets. The research also found that, of all the information that could be included, their preference was for alcohol information (standard drink size, ABV, how many units), calories per serve, sugar content, allergens and brand facts, such as how a product is made and quality assurances.

    Good design makes a dramatic difference to how well information is found and understood. Features that help include:

    • Consistent layout – knowing where to look for information on every pack
    • Grouping similar information together such as responsible drinking symbols
    • Icons are significantly faster to understand than words
    • Simple charts are preferred (a simpler nutritional chart with larger text is preferred).

    Of all the information we could provide, consumers told us that their preference is for:

    • Alcohol information (how many grams/units, ABV)

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