UAE-born fresh juice maker Barakat joined forces with its creative and social agency Havas Middle East to raise awareness about the importance of reading the back labels on products to discover what goes into the food and drinks consumers buy.

As part of the 'Read the Label' campaign, Barakat and its agency removed all text, images, and even the logo from front labels of the brand’s juice bottles – despite both front and back labels listing the same information, Barakat products actually being all natural – leaving the most important facts: ingredients and the nutritional table on the back, to encourage people to read labels and become more discerning about nutrition. Barakat labels confirm its products are made from 100% fresh fruits and vegetables that are juiced daily, contain no additives or preservatives, and are completely unprocessed.

The ‘Read the Label’ activity aims at spreading a powerful message supporting a growing consumer mindset that focuses on a healthy lifestyle through better food choices. As some front labels might be misleading, it is only by carefully reading labels on food items that shoppers can understand that many products perceived as ‘fresh’ are in fact re-engineered and contain artificial ingredients.

The message was reinforced and amplified through a live Instagram session with a certified nutritionist who explained food labels, what to look for and what to watch out for, and then answered viewers’ questions about a variety of nutrition topics. Influencers who received the #ReadTheLabel Barakat box which had juices with blank front labels in it immediately understood the message and encouraged their followers to ‘Read the Label,’ raising awareness on the importance of the topic.

“The 'Read the Label' campaign focuses on the importance of reading labels to verify the freshness and nutritional value of food. The execution spans disciplines – from packaging, activation, and design, to social media – while remaining fresh, simple, natural, and appealing, as are all Barakat products,” said Fabio Silveira, General Manager of Havas Creative, in a statement.

“One of the pre-requisites for a healthy lifestyle is to be aware of what’s in your food, so we encourage consumers to ‘Read the Label’ of all products. Barakat juices contain nothing you cannot pronounce – just fresh fruit. Our brand truth is on the label, let the choice be yours,” said Rashid Mohamed Alabbar, Board Member and Marketing Director at Barakat.

“So many of us – myself included – easily fall for attractive words on packagings, thinking we're being 'healthy.' We really wanted to open people's eyes to the importance of reading the back labels of products, because that's where you should look. So, we kept it simple, very simple, by removing everything from the packaging and keeping only what matters: the nutritional information at the back,” added Serena Abi Aad, Creative Director at Havas Creative.