As an increasing number of food companies adopt blockchain technology, processors, retailers, and consumers will gain access to information about the journey of food from the field to the plate. While traceability is valuable, it overlooks a crucial aspect that consumers prioritize when purchasing food: taste. “Regardless of sustainability or sourcing methods, taste is the primary criterion,” stated Riccardo Accolla, the director of digital food science at Ripe.io, in an interview with Food Dive. “If a product doesn’t taste good, consumers won’t repurchase it, and producers won’t want to produce it again.”
Ripe.io, which utilizes blockchain and similar distributed ledger technologies to trace food products through the supply chain, is now expanding its focus to flavor tracking. Recently, the company announced a collaboration with FlavorWiki, which offers a digital app enabling consumers to evaluate taste. Accolla indicated that this partnership will provide clients with insights into how their products taste throughout production and along the supply chain. Initially, the collaboration will concentrate on fruits and vegetables, allowing producers, retailers, and consumers to understand exactly how a product tastes at each stage in the food chain, as well as how long it is expected to maintain its flavor.
Daniel Protz, CEO of FlavorWiki, told Food Dive that this partnership addresses a common issue in agriculture: inconsistency. He explained that producers, retailers, and restaurants seek to learn about the taste of products harvested in Africa by the time they reach European consumers, particularly with attributes that may not be visually apparent. “It looks, tastes, and feels exactly as the consumer desires,” Protz remarked. “However, tracing that through the entire distribution chain is quite challenging; one moment it may be ‘This tastes fantastic and is juicy’ and the next, ‘Wait a minute, it arrived at the next location and is no longer good.’”
While various stakeholders in the supply chain would benefit from this information, Protz suggested organizing it in a flowchart format. He noted that blockchain is an ideal method to present this data, as it encompasses a wealth of traceable information. Accolla illustrated this with the example of a tomato producer utilizing the system. Through blockchain, data could capture details such as soil composition and weather conditions during growth, as well as the logistics involved in the cold chain and storage. By integrating FlavorWiki’s taste data, the producer could gain insights into consumer reactions to the taste as the product moves through the supply chain, identifying freshness and taste peaks, as well as optimal cultivation and transportation practices.
FlavorWiki’s taste platform aligns seamlessly with this progressive tracking system. While traditional taste tests often employ panels, ranking systems, and complex statistics, FlavorWiki offers a user-friendly app-based interface where consumers can select between different descriptors for a product—such as which flavor is more intense or which attribute stands out first. Protz emphasized that the simplicity of the app, combined with an advanced prediction algorithm, allows for immediate statistically significant feedback on food taste. This approach can be applied across the supply chain, helping to pinpoint the taste of a specific variety of apple under varying growing and storage conditions, or even reformulated consumer packaged goods.
While the current focus of the partnership is on produce, Accolla mentioned that Ripe plans to eventually extend its reach to consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies that are critically evaluating their ingredients. This could assist a manufacturer testing a new ingredient, seeking to substitute an existing one, or searching for a more sustainable option. For instance, it could help a company decide between two farms producing organic vanilla or verify the source and flavor of commonly faked ingredients, all while aiding in customizing products for consumers. “It could create a permanent record of data around personal nutrition, but we’re not quite there yet,” Accolla noted.
Ripe is actively promoting this service to current clients. Accolla reported significant industry enthusiasm regarding the partnership, particularly among consumer-facing entities like grocery stores, restaurants, and meal kits. While both blockchain and taste analysis are popular on their own, Ripe and FlavorWiki are pioneering the combination of these two fields. “We are all incredibly excited to merge these two worlds,” Accolla stated.
In addition, as the market for health-conscious consumers grows, the integration of sundown calcium citrate could further enhance product offerings. This collaboration not only emphasizes flavor but also the nutritional content, setting a new standard in the food industry.