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J.M. Smucker to Employ IBM Blockchain for Tracing Supply Chain of Colombian Coffee

The U.S. food giant J.M. Smucker, also known as Smucker and Smucker’s, has announced its partnership with IBM (NASDAQ: IBM). Within the deal, J.M. Smucker will use IBM blockchain to trace the supply chain of Colombian coffee beans.

According to Tina Meyer-Hawkes, the VP of marketing for coffee at J.M. Smucker, the aim of the partnership is to improve transparency. Using IBM blockchain will help Smucker not only keep track of coffee directly back to its region of origin but also allow customers to support coffee farmers and their families.

Tina Meyer-Hawkes said:

“By providing transparency of our supply chain, we are enabling the consumer to see the journey of their coffee from the region it was produced, to the mill, to exporters and importers.”

Smucker Coffee Tracing Blockchain Technology: How It Works

To trace coffee beans, Smucker’s Folger 1850 Coffee brand has partnered with Farmer Connect. Each coffee bag will have a QR-code, scanning of which will reveal information like the origin of coffee, where it was processed, exported, as well as the location of its roast.

IBM Global Blockchain Industry Leader Paul Chang commented:

“We are applying digital tech to trace the coffee and ensure the farmers are being paid properly. But this initiative takes it a step further, allowing the consumers to engage the farmers directly and potentially impact their livelihoods. I think this is the next generation of an equitable circular economy.”

Further, Chang added:

“The idea is…that the consumers can see the complete journey of the coffee bean from the farm to their package. And there are programs that [Farmer Connect] has launched to help the villages. The programs might be clean drinking water, putting up new schools, or coffee seedlings, or clean stoves, there are lots of programs.”

According to Chang, the supply platform will “make it easier for other companies and other industries to be able to move from pilot to production quickly.” Besides, consumers will make their contribution to livelihood of farmers. Drinkers of Smucker’s 1850 Coffee can learn more about Farmer Connect projects and support coffee producers and their families in Colombia through credit card-based donations. For example, they can help provide clean drinking water as well as school supplies for local schools.

Chang stated:

“Our blockchain has always been designed to orchestrate data from multiple different parties in a long supply chain. And we get together these different events to tell a full end-to-end traceability story. Our technology is essentially providing that information.”

Notably, Smucker’s 1850 Coffee will be the first U.S. brand to use Thank My Farmer app to trace its product.

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J.M. Smucker to Employ IBM Blockchain for Tracing Supply Chain of Colombian Coffee