Transparency

Communities, collaborations and cooperations will become more and more important in the future thanks to the new connectivity. This goes hand in hand with the demand for the best possible transparency about food, its origin and production, and the actors involved. The Corona pandemic, in particular, has fueled consumers’ need for safety by providing more information and poses major challenges for producers and industry. Because it is also clear: Corresponding communication only appears credible if the companies behind it appear authentic. “Edible ethics” is what Hanni Rützler calls it, and by this she also means the fact that transparency must serve certain values that younger generations in particular demand from the food industry. According to the latest EY Future Consumer Index, 80% of consumers worldwide believe that brands must be transparent about the environmental impact of the production of their goods and services.

You’re the boss here is a movement originating in France that is now also setting new transparency standards in Germany for staple foods such as milk, eggs and potatoes. What’s more, consumers become prosumers, since they are allowed to participate in the development of quality and transparency criteria. In the run-up to the marketing of certain products, desired criteria (origin, remuneration of farmers, quality, packaging, etc.) are collected online via questionnaires and communicated to the producers represented in the cooperative. Together, they negotiate the prices at which the products can then be distributed or purchased. The goal: fair prices for all, first and foremost for the producers.

Best practices: YOU ARE THE BOSS HERE

Photo: Unsplash, You are the boss here