A commodity in a bag, and a QR code inside it

Basmati rice is a commoditized category and FMCG staples purchases are, by default, low-engagement transactions. A household chooses a bag on price and habit, and the manufacturer never learns who they are. There was no direct consumer connect of any kind.

That absence carried a compounding cost. With no verified customer database, there was nothing to build CRM on, no behavioural insight to target with, and no way to differentiate at shelf level beyond packaging and price, which is the one axis where a commodity brand can least afford to compete.

The manufacturer also needed any reward to feel trustworthy to a value-conscious buyer. In a category where the purchase itself is a few hundred rupees, a scheme that promises points with a distant or complicated payoff reads as a gimmick rather than value.

The journey is deliberately short: buy the pack, scan the unique QR inside, land on a white-labelled multilingual microsite, register with mobile and OTP, and earn. Codes are managed batch-wise and SKU-linked, with configurable point allocation, scan caps and usage controls behind them.

Redemption is where the program earns its trust. A consumer can take instant cashback to UPI or bank against a ₹50 minimum, redeem closed-loop for the company's own products with direct fulfilment, or redeem open-loop for digital gift cards. Offering all three is the point: cash answers the value-conscious buyer, own-brand product reinforces the category habit, and vouchers give freedom to everyone else. Campaign bonuses on festivals, birthdays and specific SKUs run on top, with a fraud layer of geo, device and IP tracking underneath.

410,000 verified consumer profiles have been built from scans, in a category that previously produced none. The QR sits inside the pack rather than on it, which matters more than it sounds: the code cannot be scanned in the aisle without buying, so every profile is attached to a real purchase.

Repeat purchase among scanners rose 34%, at 3.2 scans per participating household per quarter. Offering three redemption routes from one scan is what kept participation up after the novelty passed. Cash against a ₹50 threshold made the reward legible to a value-conscious buyer, while closed-loop redemption for the company's own rice quietly reinforces the habit the brand actually wants. First-party data now drives targeted campaigns by SKU and region, which moves rice a little further from commodity and closer to a considered choice.

Takeaway: in a commodity category, put the code inside the pack. It cannot be scanned without a purchase, and every scan becomes a customer you can name.