Dive Brief:
- Glanbia Nutritionals has launched an animated video that describes the 14-step, closed-loop supply chain process it follows in the production of its OatPure product. The web page also includes videos on the way it harvests the crops as well as an infographic outlining the process.
- In an effort to be transparent as to the origin of its ingredients, Glanbia highlights its NFS-certified process. Its oats are guaranteed at less than 10ppm gluten.
- Glanbia has also developed an animation describing the mineral profile of its milk mineral complex, TruCal.
Dive Insight:
Manufacturers have been making use of codes and websites to respond to consumers' desires for transparency. Concerns focus on health and wellness, and the environmental and social impacts of production processes.
"If we don’t embrace transparency ourselves, it will most likely be thrust upon us in ways that are not positive," Leslie Turner, general counsel for The Hershey Co., told an audience at the 2015 Food Integrity Summit. The company’s simple and easy-to-understand ingredients marketing language was perceived as insulting by consumers. Customers preferred the phrase simple and familiar, and Hershey’s complied.
Efforts by manufacturers to be transparent about ingredients and supply chains helps them identify problems in order to fix them; sharing those changes with customers and consumers builds trust. One method of transparency is to be proactive and not reactive. In recent weeks, several major food companies have made the decision to label GMOs in their products, which can be perceived as a way to be open with consumers.