An example of information when Pernod Ricard’s Digital Label is scanned.
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Alcohol giant Pernod Ricard has conducted its third digital label launch in South East Asia with the Khmer-language, tying in with the Cambodian government’s efforts in introducing alcohol legislation to prevent underage drinking.
The firm made its first digital label launch in the region in Singapore last year, followed by Vietnam and then Cambodia.
Crucially, the information accessed by consumers upon scanning the digital labels will all be in the Cambodian national language Khmer as well as English, which is expected to greatly increase accessibility and acceptance in the country.
“This digital label is a direct response to consumer demand for clear, accessible product information in Cambodia [focusing on] easy-to-understand content written in Khmer,” Pernod Ricard Cambodge Managing Director Daren Ong said.
“We have provided actionable guidance to help consumers make informed choices [and] as the first to roll out digital labelling across our entire portfolio, we are setting a new industry standard, as well as creating awareness about the risks associated with harmful consumption.
“This helps adults of legal drinking age make informed decisions about whether and how much to drink [and] marks an important step in industry’s commitment to introducing National Drinking Guidelines in Cambodia for the first time.
“From today, 80% of Pernod Ricard’s spirits and wines sold in Cambodia will be produced with the e-label.”
According to the company, Cambodia is currently one of very few countries left in the world that does not have a minimum Legal Purchase Age (LPA), and this launch is expected to tie in with government efforts to establish this.
“Cambodia has proposed draft alcohol legislation for the first time, including a legal purchase age for alcohol use to better protect minors from accessing alcoholic beverages,” said the firm.
“Pernod Ricard has long championed the actions taken by the Royal Government of Cambodia to put in place an LPA at 18 years old, and the new e-label launch forms a crucial step in supporting the government’s ambitions to build a better-informed, healthier society.
“This also sets a new benchmark for transparency within the alcohol industry, offering consumers in Cambodia more accessible and detailed product information for the first time.”
Alcohol regulation in Cambodia
Data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has placed Cambodia’s teenage alcohol consumption as amongst the highest in the region, which is unsurprising considering the lack of an LPA.
The most recent form of governance in this area has been in the advertising of alcohol, on which regulations were passed in the beginning of 2024 to prohibit alcohol advertising and certain promotional activities, as well banning the use of women or girls as a means of advertisement.
But in terms of actual consumption, Cambodia’s draft law on alcohol regulation and setting a minimum LPA was introduced back in 2015 – but was still ‘in discussion’ as of 2022 and has not seen formal implementation as of 2024.
The data in this area is also severely lacking – the latest statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) date back to 2016, but even then, around 19% of teenagers in Cambodia were alcohol drinkers, and this number is expected to be much higher now given trends in the rest of the region.
