It is now possible to optimize Food Safety through a blockchain powered platform that connects directly to shoppers and protects the brand, the distributor and the supply chain with real-time Food Safety messages that engage, educate, reward and protect shoppers at scale.  Jonas Hudson, Co-Founder, Greenfence Consumer explains how.

A food safety professional’s worst nightmare

What keeps food safety professionals awake at night?  Recalls; they can strike fear into the heart of those charged with keeping not only their supply chains safe and sustainable but their consumers, distributors, and their brands protected.  

But recalls happen and when they do, proactive and fast messaging on the food safety issues that matter is fundamental to saving lives, controlling operational costs and maintaining trust and loyalty for the brand and distribution partner.

The Global Product Recall Alerts platform GPR Alerts manages an end-to-end ecosystem that addresses the safe and efficient tracking, recording, validation, and refund of a product recall through a brand and distributor’s approved marketing message.

Engagement. Simplified.

So how does it all work? Well, it’s simple.  Our mobile-centric platform utilizes blockchain technology to enable brands to connect directly across global food supply chains as never before via a digital wallet and point of sale (POS) integration.  

A simple onboarding process using just a mobile telephone number allows brands and distributors to instantly alert a shopper if the product they purchased has been recalled or is unsafe to consume.  The platform ties directly to the POS and sends a message to the shopper with instructions, delivering trusted food safety communications quickly and easily to multiple stakeholders simultaneously through one single channel.  The shopper is also rewarded instantly with a product refund. 

The result is an ongoing consumer relationship to engage, educate, reward and protect at scale.  

Along with mobile devices, the platform and the POS can integrate with channel partners like local TV networks to support communications by ensuring that targeted on screen messages appear in order to communicate any specific call to actions and information.  This omni-channel approach not only reduces operational costs from having to use individual communication channels, but helps to increase brand reputation by eliminating market misinformation from having one single source of truth. 

From the field to the consumer and across a retailers’ operations to include multiple functions, there’s nothing like this on the market that works in real-time to deliver this level of engagement.

Educate

Of course, consumers can set up alerts for recalls, but the difference here is the delivery of proactive food safety messages and value added information around health and well-being via our tried and tested platform which enables brands to connect both in store and out.

Data analysis enables us to send instantaneous messages to shoppers’ and supply chain actors’ mobile devices to inform them that a product not only has been recalled, but what they should potentially do next.  This may include information relating to the possible disposal of the product or adjusted sell by dates or it may be to tell them about contamination or suspected product adulteration. GPR Alerts can even target distribution networks with information; imagine a trucker – who may be shipping products to a retailer – being suddenly told that the load is being recalled for whatever reason.  They will need to know how this affects them and what they need to do next; this technology enables that.

Analytics also enable personalization; we can send alerts to consumers who have previously bought a product highlighting the current recall.  It is almost as if food can now almost talk to the shopper ‘don’t buy me, I’m recalled and if you have bought me, here’s what you need to do!’

And of course, messages are backed up with the appropriate coupon delivered at the same time to not only drive the consumer back to the store but to deliver loyalty and increased brand reputation. Brands can also use the technology to send messages about product replacements, back-in-stock notifications, refunds or promotional messages.

Reward

This reward model turns the traditional loyalty card on its’ head as the POS is linked to mobile devices so there is no need for lengthy sign ups or having to physically have your card with you to earn points; you just need your phone number and you are connected.  This enables participation for the off-network, unbanked and underbanked in the entire food safety, health and sustainability supply chain conversation – whilst filling their digital wallets at the same time with information that is relevant to them.

But the reward goes deeper still; we reward with timely and useful information and education around the real food safety issues that matter.  If stakeholders are connected, they are engaged. They can participate and ensure that they are receiving the right coupons and information related to product recalls.  They can participate and most of all, they are helping to keep themselves and their family safe.

So through inclusivity and rewards, Greenfence is enabling an on-going and connected relationship with consumers on important food safety issues; put simply, it trumps loyalty cards!

Summary

Being able to instantly validate data then efficiently transmitting it to a consumer digital wallet for communication on recall alerts, distribution of refunds or a replacement, revolutionizes how messaging is delivered.  It provides an efficient and secure platform to help supply chain stakeholders and their retailer partners manage these frequent issues to ensure that they are truly better safe than sorry.

From managing recalls safely and efficiently through to enabling complete participation on the issues that matter, our technology is not only revolutionizing shopper engagement, but transforming food safety – one purchase at a time.

END

#GFSI20 Special Session – Engaging the Masses: How Consumers Feed the Supply Chain – Weds 26 Feb at 1115 hrs – Regency Ballroom, Level 2 
Join us for a paradigm-shifting conversation with Ernst & Young and global point-of-sale provider Toshiba to learn how companies can utilize the blockchain to effectively connect with consumers before, at and after the POS and start a real-time dialogue on food safety matters.