Provenance is important to modern consumers but precise information regarding what goes into the food and drink products they consume is hard to come by. Now, in a bid to cater to desires for transparency, Mondelēz International has leveraged emerging technology that enables customers to track the journey of the wheat used in some of their Triscuit products.

“We are committed to understanding and meeting the growing needs and preferences of our consumers, and those needs are evolving to a more holistic sense of wellbeing and value-oriented purchase decisions. Consumers are demanding more transparency about their food, and are keen to have access to information about wher their food comes from and how it is grown,” said Jay Cooper, President, North America Biscuits, Mondelēz International. “This project is an important step forward in our journey to continue providing our stakeholders – and importantly our consumers – an accessible window into that process. We’re excited to test these capabilities with the Triscuit brand here in the US and look forward to expanding our transparency efforts.”

Transparency powered by blockchain

This data-driven, consumer-centric supply chain transparency pilot is the first of its kind for Mondelēz International in North America, however they recently piloted a similar project in France. Using blockchain technology, LU biscuit consumers were able to trace the journey of Harmony wheat from field to shelf. Both programmes were created in partnership with Connecting Food, a supply chain transparency platform powered by blockchain, to provide third-party traceability advisement and technology services.

In their latest pilot, consumers can use their smartphone to discover the journey of the wheat from the Triscuit brand’s Unity Gold Farmer Program from farms to the factory. The interactive web app can be accessed by scanning the QR code found on the front of two sizes of Triscuit boxed products.

After entering the product’s “best by” date located on the packaging, consumers can view the location of more than 127 farmers who participate in the Unity Gold Farmer Program and learn more about the wheat’s journey from the farms to the Co-op Elevator, mill and bakery. The app also affords consumers additional information specific to their particular batch of product, including the wheat harvest year and the date on which the cracker was baked.

Specially-marked Triscuit boxes with the QR code are being rolling out over the coming weeks to retail stores across the US and will be available until the autumn.