Building trust through transparency

The path ahead

In meeting this growing demand for food, producers are facing a number of challenges that come with increasing production: from the added complexity of scaling up, to more fragmented supply chains. On top of this, they must also adhere to increasingly stringent quality and safety standards while containing the growing threat of food fraud. For consumers, meanwhile, the priority is that their products come from trusted sources and are 100% genuine.

As supply chains have become more complex and fragmented, counterfeit food and beverage products have become a growing concern – with the World Customs Organization estimating that the counterfeit food industry generates over $49 billion a year.

Although food and beverage producers are finding ways to fight back, production processes are becoming more difficult to control and trace. And many brands are experiencing a growing number of illegal counterfeiting and copycat activities. All of which can severely impact a brand’s sales and quality reputation, pose serious health risks, and lead to widespread consumer distrust.  

A clear strategy  

To build more trust, the industry needs to ensure 100% authenticity and quality – using safer, more efficient and more transparent supply chains. To achieve this, producers are turning to technologies such as blockchain to track and trace the journey of food and beverage products. According to some research, if blockchain is adopted across the entire industry, it could result in $31 billion in food fraud savings by 2024.

As we’ve seen in many stories on SIGnals, food and beverage producers are becoming increasingly aware of the unique benefits of digitisation and data. Using both to enable instant tracebacks; fully connect the supply chain; reduce costs, waste and inefficiencies; and, ultimately, drive greater consumer trust in their products.

At SIG, we offer a range of world-class technology, solutions and services to help you reliably manage your supply chain and increase transparency. Take PAC.TRUST, our Connected Pack solution which uses unique pack serialisation and robust back-end technologies to deliver 100% traceability of any product – from sourcing of raw materials to point of sale.

On top of this, our Smart Factory solutions and portfolio of on-demand digital services are ready to help you reach a new level of efficiency, productivity and connectivity. Optimising your filling lines and allowing you to continuously monitor and analyse the production process, ensure end-to-end visibility and collect more in-depth data.

Creating long-term trust

As discussed in part two of our series, global consumption is constantly rising – thanks to a growing consumer class with growing expectations. With a desire to know everything about the products they are about to purchase, food and beverage producers have a great opportunity to build long-term trust and loyalty.

In part five of our series, we’ll turn our focus to global demand for responsible and sustainable products. With consumers willing to pay more for environmentally and socially friendly products, what does this mean for your business? Is it possible to phase out materials like fossil plastic and aluminium? And how can SIG help you reach a whole new generation of conscious and loyal consumers?

 Want more stories like these sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe to the SIGnals Update, our exclusive bi-weekly newsletter.