Page 39 - Food & Drink Business Jan-Feb 2020

It’s all managed in a centralised software platform to give businesses insights into every process and help them measure performance.
More importantly, the food identity data is authenticated in an unbreakable blockchain record – a kind of digital proof of providence.
Consumers might not be interested in how the blockchain works, but they do get excited about the truth it reveals.
“Blockchain is like a database you can add to, but you can’t edit a record or fudge the rules,” says Inderias. “Because it’s publicly auditable, it’s a useful record to prove the origin of a product, the things that contribute to its quality and its sustainability.”
Inderias points to a cheeky statement on FSC’s website acknowledging this: “Fresh Supply Co started as a blockchain company, which
orchard to packing shed to store to consumer. Undoubtedly a season’s-worth of apple data can help unlock some supply chain efficiencies, but there’s even more value in the consumer experience.
“Once there’s a QR code on each apple we can tell great stories,” he explains. “You think Japanese people are way ahead with electronics and they’ve got robots serving you in restaurants, but when it comes to primary production, they’re very traditional.
“They have sun beds for the apples that give the bottom of the apple a nice even colour, but the picking and packing are all done in small batches. Now we can show consumers the history of Aomori and how the farmers
engagement. Of the two, he believes the value of consumer data will grow exponentially.
“Content helps drive engagement, which then gives you a lot more analytics about your consumers,” he says. “We’ve seen frequent repeat sales
to consumers of a particular product because they’ll scan it in the store to check it’s the real deal. That consumer commitment helps you stand out from your competitors and of course, it
also helps you address issues such as being counterfeited in
an export market. At either end
of the supply chain – farmers
and consumers – no-one
cares about the blockchain.
It’s all about building stronger relationships between people wholovegoodfood.” ✷
we found quite boring. We decided to turn traceability into a sexy marketing piece involving the producer, the retailer and the consumer.”
FOOD STORYTELLING
FSC’s co-founder Ben Lyons has made traceability sexy before: he developed the first paddock- to-garment traceability program for The Woolmark Company, helping it promote member-brands so they could rise above counterfeits in the fashion industry.
A year after founding FSC Lyons and Inderias brought in Georgie Uppington as COO to build the connections between business data
and brand storytelling.
She draws on her experience
in film production, including stints as a producer at Lucasfilm and Animal Logic, to help clients find the best stories about their food – and tell them effectively.
The stories FSC helps its clients tell aren’t just about the supply chain, notes Inderias. For example, FSC is helping Australia’s largest broccoli exporter to Japan connect with consumers in the supermarket.
When a consumer scans the broccoli they can access video stories in Japanese, with the farmer explaining things like ‘The microclimate in the Lockyer Valley (QLD) increases the sugar levels, so you get a sweeter product ... and now here’s how you can cook it’.
“Those stories that show the origins of food and give you a taste for it work really well,” says Inderias.
Meanwhile, FSC is also enjoying huge success with Aomori apples, a premium variety grown near Mount Iwaki in northern Japan.
FSC gives each apple a QR code so it can be traced from
obsessively care for the apples. They have a very special taste and they’re quite expensive, so people want to know they’re buying a genuine Aomori apple.” The value FSC delivers is two-fold, explains Inderias: there’s the digitisation to prove compliance across production and supply; plus the big data insights into consumer
SMART BUSINESS
“ Fresh Supply Co started as a blockchain company, which we found quite boring. We decided to turn traceability into a sexy marketing piece involving the producer, the retailer and the consumer.”
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | January-February 2020 | Food&Drink business | 39
Fresh Supply Co founders David Inderias and Ben Lyons are intent on telling the interesting stories behind the food we eat.