Starting this Thanksgiving, consumers can trace Honeysuckle White brand turkeys from a family farm to their table, thanks to a blockchain-based program from Cargill. Consumers in select markets can simply text or enter an on-package code at HoneysuckleWhite.com to access the farm’s location by state and county, view the family farm story, see photos from the farm and read a message from the farmer.
"The Honeysuckle White brand is committed to food transparency, and we're the only major turkey brand to exclusively provide family farm-raised turkey," said Deborah Socha, Honeysuckle White brand manager in a press release. "We know consumers are looking beyond farm-to-table marketing promises to better understand where their food comes from and how it is produced. That's why the Honeysuckle White brand is the first and only major turkey brand to pilot a blockchain-based solution for traceable turkey."
Consumers Drive Demand for Farm-to-table Transparency
For years, the Honeysuckle White brand has worked closely with consumers to understand the significance transparency plays in their food choices, and demand continues to grow.
- In 2014, the brand found 44 percent of turkey consumers think it is important for companies to be transparent in their practices.
- Studies in 2016 revealed 73 percent of consumers feel positively about companies that are transparent about where and how their products are made, grown or raised. More than half of consumers consider farmers one of the most trusted sources on food-related issues.
- This year, the Honeysuckle White brand held consumer focus groups that confirmed consumers feel good about buying turkey raised by family farmers.
These insights led to the development and pilot of the first-to-market blockchain-based solution for turkey. Honeysuckle White is the only leading turkey brand to exclusively work with family farmers to provide consumers family farm-raised turkey and is the first and only major turkey brand to pilot an effort to show consumers where their turkey was raised and the family who raised it.
"I'm honored that the Honeysuckle White brand asked me to be one of the first farmers to make it possible for families to trace their turkey back to my family's farm," said family farmer Darrell Glaser of Milam County, Texas. "Everyone deserves to know more about the food they're eating, and I like feeling more connected to the people I'm raising these turkeys for. It's important for me that consumers understand the care my family puts in every day to provide quality turkeys for families across the country."
Blockchain Enables Greater Transparency
The pilot for traceable Honeysuckle White brand turkeys uses a first-to-market blockchain-based solution enabled by Cargill. Blockchain models build a trusted, transparent food chain that integrate key stakeholders into the supply chain and create a distributed ledger with immutable records. Because all participants inside the blockchain network must agree before a new record is added to a ledger, the technology also reduces the risk of fraud or human error, and cryptography within the network ensures security, authentication and integrity of transactions.
"At Cargill, we are becoming a better partner through digitalization and analytics, identifying opportunities to use technology to deliver real value for customers, partners and consumers," said Deb Bauler, Cargill chief information officer for North American Protein. "The transparency pilot with Honeysuckle White® brand turkeys is one example of how we are using technology to shape the food system of the future and deliver on consumers' desire for transparency in food."
Cargill will use the pilot as an opportunity to learn more about the value of traceability in its turkey supply chain.
