Featured · Opinion

The humble barcode already earns New Zealand more than a billion dollars a year. Its successor is ready now

interest.co.nz · Public Policy / Opinion · Saturday 10 October 2026 · By Adrian Simmons, Managing Director

Adrian looks back at what the barcode did for New Zealand grocery and argues that its successor, a 2D code built on the GS1 Digital Link standard, is ready to use now. Because the data on the pack follows an open global standard, it can help with marking down short-dated stock, recalling a single batch and giving producers a direct line to shoppers. Brands can adopt it one by one, ahead of GS1’s “Sunrise 2027” goal for checkouts to read 2D codes.

“Same beep at the till, but the code also carries the batch, the expiry date and a web link.”

Read on interest.co.nz ›

Coming next · Opinion

Two clocks, one code

Coming soon.