Dive Brief:
- Manufacturers have been embracing new transparency efforts, including websites and codes, to provide consumers with more information about the products they buy, including what is in them, where the ingredients come from, and how they were made. But complete transparency isn't an easy process for the industry.
- Manufacturers are using these codes and websites to respond to consumers' concerns about health and wellness, environmental and social impacts of the production process, and regulations and safety in regards to food and beverage.
- Select Hershey products now feature SmartLabel technology; Kellogg and General Mills' websites include information about the farmers who grow grains for their cereals; and Campbell launched its website, whatsinmyfood.com, to offer details about ingredient sources.
Dive Insight:
The information consumers want is not always easy to determine or share due to complex supply chains, so complete transparency for food and beverage manufacturers is not always feasible. For example, Hershey creates its chocolate using a mix of beans from different sources, so the company can't say exactly what farm the cocoa in a particular bag of Kisses came from, Deb Arcoleo, director of product transparency at Hershey, told The Wall Street Journal.
Not all executives are convinced that the added costs are worth the potential benefits. It's unclear whether, or how many, consumers want to know all the information that some manufacturers go out of their way to provide. And even if enough consumers do want this information, they may not trust that information coming directly from a major food manufacturer.
One solution is third-party verifications, which may lend credibility to a manufacturer's claims, particularly when it comes to health and safety. Also, images and video footage, such as behind-the-scenes looks at how food animals are treated, can bring transparency that consumers may be more willing to trust since they can see it themselves.