Blockchain-based tracking pushing sales of products higher, says Carrefour

French retail giant Carrefour said that blockchain implementation for tracking meat, milk and fruit along their supply chain have driven the sales of these products higher, Reuters reported.

A company executive told the media house that it will expand the implementation to more products in order to boost the trust of consumers.

A founding member of the IBM Food Trust platform, Carrefour has implemented blockchain technology to improve the traceability of a number of its food products including Auvergne chicken and farmhouse fattened chicken, tomatoes, eggs, Carrefour Quality Line oranges, and Carrefour Quality Line fresh micro-filtered full-fat milk.

Per the report, blockchain-based traceability system is currently available for 20 items including chicken, eggs, raw milk, oranges, pork and cheese. Carrefour plans to add 100 more items to this list this year, particularly such items where consumers need reassurance, such as baby and organic products.

“You are building a halo effect - ‘If I can trust Carrefour with this chicken, I can also trust Carrefour for their apples or cheese,’” Emmanuel Delerm, Carrefour’s blockchain project manager, told Reuters.

Customers just need to scan a QR code on the item using their smartphones, which unlock key information right from the point of origin to the point of purchase. Delerm said that blockchain-based tracking has boosted the sales of pomelo grapefruit as well as chicken.

“The pomelo sold faster than the year before due to blockchain,” Delerm said. “We had a positive impact on the chicken versus the non-blockchain chicken.”

However, he pointed out that there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed such as tracking of fruits and vegetables coming from different farms and sold loose in the market and the resistance from farmers to sharing all the details of their products.

Going forward, Carrefour intends to implement the blockchain technology in non-food lines such as clothing as well as provide more information like how much the farmer receives out of the shelf price. The company is also exploring ways to identify products that do not have a QR code.

In April, Carrefour teamed up with Nestle on a project to use blockchain technology to track Mousline instant mashed potato.