The Honest Product Guide was published by The Consumer Goods Forum & Futerra in October 2018. Exploring a hot topic in the global economy, the guide brings together industry experts and consumer surveys to discuss how transparency leads to trust in a consumerist culture.
The “newly educated consumers” influenced by “mass education, mass media and massive scandals” are digging deeper into brands and trying to understand the brand’s origins, voice, and purpose. When they find brands/products that resonate with their ideologies, an instant connection is formed that drives them to invest their money and trust in them.
Big or already established brands are being looked at with an investigative lens to uncover a complete list of ingredients that go into the making, “corporate secrets”, and PR stunts that bring the brand to the forefront. Many people are turning to the internet for honest brand reviews or understand brand practices. This is what the guide calls “people power”.
“Information voids” left by companies are being filled by customer reviews and people are actively scouting out for this kind of information on the internet. More and more consumers want to know about the farm their food grew on, usage of synthetic substances, environmental and social friendliness of the supply chain, etc.
The Honest Product Guide expresses the “benefits of being more transparent about social, health, environmental and safety issues” through an intensive consumer-led survey that indicates that “94% of consumers are likely to be loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency”. Transparency leads to increased trust that eventually leads to product preference.
In a world where more and more consumers are looking to build a connection with the brand, transparency seems to be the only plausible solution. Sooner or later, brands will have to succumb to a certain level of transparency with their customers in order to not lose them.
Brands need to provide consumers with the information they need to base their decisions upon, which means that brands first need to map their supply chains to get information about the entire ecosystem. With more and more brands turning to blockchain powered supply chains as their holy grail in the endeavour towards transparency, traceability, sustainability, and safety are soon to follow.
By enabling blockchain supply chain solutions will help your brand gain advantage with your customers by giving them just the information transparency they are looking for, and this is the right time to adopt this technology by being the forerunner, rather than following out of obligation later. It also shows your customers that you are putting them first, thus reinforcing their trust in your brand and giving you time to innovate with it.
AgriChain hence becomes a means to help you achieve your desired customer base and a means for your customers to access the information that other brands lack. It is time to build “honest products that help build a more human connection between the products that people buy and the people who make them.”
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