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Consumers want companies within the food, drink and supplement market to use blockchain technology.
In the third quarter of 2019, FCMG Gurus surveyed 26,000 consumers across 26 countries about blockchain. The researchers learned that only 18% of consumers across the globe are aware of the technology. Meanwhile, 50% of the respondents said they would use the technology to find out more about the food, drink and nutritional supplements in the market.
The study learned that consumers are unlikely to use blockchain technology because it is too time-consuming. But blockchain technology has been used to investigate products with ethical and environmental policy issues.
Also, there is a growing distrust between brands and consumers. Many felt that companies don’t have their best interest at heart and they are deliberately giving misleading statements about health and sustainability. Based on the survey, a total of 31% of customers worldwide do not trust food brands while 25% said they have become less trusting of food brands in the past two years.
Blockchain technology will answer the concerns of skeptical consumers who don’t trust the brands’ policies and practices. Consumers want brands to demonstrate maximum transparency and trust.
“Consumers are interested in finding out sustainability initiatives along the whole of the supply chain. This is something that is further highlighted by the fact that 51% say it is important that brands monitor the supply chains of their suppliers to ensure that they are acting in an ethical and environmentally friendly manner. This is to avoid any situation where brands make claims about sustainability pledges, only for this to be potentially undone if negative information emerges about the practices of suppliers,” the authors wrote.
“The reality is that a consumer disconnect with brands is something that will only intensify in the future due to concerns about practices and policies. As such, brands should look to become early adopters of blockchain technology, in order to demonstrate a proactive approach to trust and transparency when it comes to communicating information.”
Meanwhile, dairy producer El Ordeño joined tech firm IBM Food Trust to monitor its TRU milk products, which have been relaunched with new packaging featuring a QR code. The technology allows customers to scan the label of products with their mobile devices and access the information about the path that their TRU milk has traveled.
