Nestlé will break new ground in supply chain transparency through a collaboration with OpenSC – an innovative blockchain platform that allows consumers to track their food back to the farm.

Through the collaboration, Nestlé becomes the first major food and beverage company to announce that it will pilot open blockchain technology in this way. This is part of Nestlé’s journey towards full transparency, the company said.

Founded by World Wildlife Fund-Australia (WWF-Australia) and The Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures, OpenSC has developed a platform that will give anyone anywhere access to independently verifiable sustainability and supply chain data.

The initial pilot program will trace milk from farms and producers in New Zealand to Nestlé factories and warehouses in the Middle East. Later, the technology will be tested using palm oil sourced in the Americas. The pilots will allow the company to understand how scalable the system is, Nestlé said.

“We want our consumers to make an informed decision on their choice of products – to choose products produced responsibly,” said Magdi Batato, executive vice president and head of operations at Nestlé S.A. “Open blockchain technology might allow us to share reliable information with consumers in an accessible way.”

Nestlé has piloted blockchain technology since 2017, most prominently with the IBM Food Trust. In April, it gave consumers access to blockchain data for the first time through Mousline purée in France.

“This open blockchain technology will allow anyone, anywhere in the world, to assess our responsible sourcing facts and figures,” said Benjamin Ware, global head of responsible sourcing at Nestlé S.A.

He added, “We believe it is another important step towards the full disclosure of our supply chains announced by Nestlé in February this year, raising the bar for transparency and responsible production globally.”