The GrowHub ushers in new frontier

For many years, the issue of traceability in the food and beverage industry has been of concern to both consumers and producers. As an increasingly well-educated population with growing purchasing power develops, so has the need for understanding and locating a product’s origins. This is in light of competing issues such as food fraud and sustainability, which can affect brand perception and reputation.

With the rise of technology such as blockchain, producers have yet another method of traceable goods to consumers. A departure from traditional tracing methodologies such as ERP and MES software, and serialisation equipment, blockchain ensures that individuals can monitor the chain of custody and the journey of an asset in real-time.

As Asia-Pacific’s only Web3-enabled technology plug-and-play ecosystem builder, The GrowHub is seeking to transform the current

food system in the region with these transformative technologies. Via its public blockchain technology, the company aims to deliver transparent traceability methods for producers, changing the way food producers have been thinking about accountability and consumer experience.

“We bring, besides the food traceability portion, for the consumers not just the exact pinpointing of the product’s origins, but also an immersive experience,” explained Lester Chan, CEO and founder of The GrowHub.

Raising a bottle of Australian-made honey as an example, he added: “By scanning the QR code on our products, it brings up a whole new

experience where augmented reality is delivered to consumers on their phones. And advertisements, in terms of the producer talking about his product, in a message, for as much as he wants — these could be brought up in just a scan. Thus, for a consumer, having a product isn’t just about making a purchase, where you know who to trust, the origin, and its entire process — it becomes an exciting experience.” 

TACKLING FOOD FRAUD

The significance of these technologies is a pointed one given the prevalence of food fraud in recent years. The Chinese milk scandal is one such case, where lethal amounts of melamine present in infant formula, affecting some 300,000 babies, changed the ways consumers interpreted the labels on their purchases.

Chan added: “We can look at 2019, where 89% of ground beef found in Egypt was not made of beef. The red meat was, in fact, made from donkey or chicken. And if I’m going back in the context of Australia, where the country produces premium or organic products, other food manufacturers can come in and claim to have the same premium and organic labels. Based on the research, we found that most of the time food fraud happens not on the supply chain, but on the stage of processing. A product can claim to be made of 100% juice, but we know that this is not the case.”

 The emergence of food fraud as a considerable issue thus underscores The GrowHub’s services, particularly as the only public blockchain technology provider. The differentiation between a public and private blockchain is a key factor in approaching food fraud, as Chan further elaborated.

 “Most producers just use a private blockchain system. A private blockchain system just proves that a product is from a certain producer — but this does not address the issue of food fraud. Due to food fraud, 52% of global consumers do not trust the provenance of their food. This goes back to the issue of a product claiming that they’re made of 100% real juice, with a private blockchain tracing back to its producer, but it does not show what exactly goes into the product. Whereas for The GrowHub, our private blockchain, which we open up to the scrutiny of the world, can trace every single aspect to know every single ingredient that goes into it, and we are able to prove it.”

A LEAP FORWARD

Blockchain, the metaverse, etc — most consumers do not associate these terms with the food and beverage industry at first blush. Indeed, the immediate associations for these ground-breaking technologies are bitcoin and cryptocurrency, as well as NFTs. 

However, Chan believes that the technology can be put to good use for the industry: “The entire Web3 is more than just blockchain and meta reality; it’s about how we use it. For us, we work closely with various governments in Asia-Pacific, like Australia, where we use our Web3 technology, such as blockchain. We bring in, as a plug-and-play, technologies that we are able to plug into our system, to prove source of provenance; we bring in technologies that are able to prove things like tamper-proof packaging. Or, we enable other forms of technology like freight, where we are able to check on things like temperature sensors — all these can be plugged into our blockchain. And what makes it different, in terms of our system, is that information logged into our public blockchain cannot be reversed, and readings cannot be changed any further.”

These digital developments are vital in keeping an industry that is generally conservative in a forward-moving pace. Factoring in the challenges of food fraud, there is certainty that technologies like blockchain can prove to be a major step forward in ensuring that food manufacturers are well-compensated for their produce.

“We are trying to bring about awareness in an industry that is traditionally traditional. Most of us, when we look at food, we think about the ways to export food. If we think about making food fancy again, we talk about plant-based type of proteins, we talk about alternative meat sources. Thus, we are always looking at how to fine-tune the food we have, but neglect the whole supply chain, logistics, and provenance, where a lot of food fraud can be prevented.

“When we embarked on the journey five years ago, with the support of both federal and state governments in Australia, we see that food fraud occurs mostly in processing, and farmers and producers get to lose out. We can’t say that we can prevent all of this from happening, but where our value proposition comes in, is that we bring the same value to those who have made the sacrifice; for those who have paid the price, we want to capture the same value back.”

SUPPORT FROM THE PUBLIC SECTOR

The GrowHub is the strategic and exclusive commercial partner for the Food Innovation Precinct in Western Australia (FIPWA). Within FIPWA, the company manages the innovation centre, which has three main objectives: firstly, to attract companies across the region to bring in their best-inclass technology to FIPWA. By doing so enhances the talent and productivity, as well as research for FIPWA; on the other hand, The GrowHub provides the commercial angle via plugging into their system.

Secondly, a digital hub within the innovation centre also feeds data into food traceability and consumer behaviour. This is returned to the producers, which allows them to derive marketing strategies and product innovation. Lastly, the innovation centre is a landmark of food innovation for western Australia, and as a physical place of congregation.

“We are fortunate to have the support of the Western Australia government, in terms of technology, endorsement, and support, which gives rise to a lot of confidence from consumers. And I will say, in the next three to five years, The GrowHub is in a very good position to partake in the growth of South East Asia, where we see rising consumerism and consumer education. Our technology will be able to shorten the process with our Web3 platform, rather than traditional systems like advertisements and computing systems,” concluded Chan.

View article at: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67294588/food-beverage-asia-october-november-2022/13