Blockchain innovation: FoodLogiQ forms pilot partnership alongside industry leaders

08 Jun 2018 --- FoodLogiQ, a SaaS provider of traceability, food safety and supply chain transparency solutions, together with a select group of customers, has announced the launch of a blockchain pilot. AgBiome Innovations, Subway/Independent Purchasing Cooperative, Testo, Tyson Foods and others are partnering with FoodLogiQ to test the application of blockchain to raise transparency within their supply chains.

“Blockchain” is one of the buzzwords at the beginning of 2018, with the enormous hype around the benefits that this technology can offer. Early food sector adopters can take advantage of implementing blockchain, particularly when it comes to traceability.

Hyped as a potentially game-changing pioneering innovation, blockchain technology is inspiring change and innovation in the global food and beverage industry – and although it’s still in the extremely early stages, blockchain technology offers the promise of disruption on a huge scale across multiple sectors including agri-food, retail and the ingredients business at large. 

During the project, which is set to begin in Q3 by the company's innovation arm FoodLogiQ Labs, the pilot group will research the opportunities and challenges of this emerging technology within the food industry. 

“Over the years, input from our customers and partners has been invaluable in helping us to make critical improvements to the features and functionality of FoodLogiQ's products and the same will be true with our blockchain pilot,” says FoodLogiQ CEO Dean Wiltse. “As a technology pioneer with a legacy of success in enhanced traceability for the food industry, FoodLogiQ will be taking the lead on blockchain exploration within the food space.”

Blockchain is an emerging technology offering a way for companies to transact with each other and move assets around the world in a secure manner. What makes blockchain unique is that it is a shared, permanent ledger that records all the transactions in the chronological order that cannot be altered or deleted. While this approach holds promise on raising transparency in the food industry, there is much yet to be tested and validated on its real-world application within the food chain.

Blockchain technology is a distributed governance system through a peer to peer network that offers validation of transactions in a decentralized way. It builds upon information technology developments in data sharing and storage, innovations in algorithms and cryptography and understanding of behavioral and institutional economic arrangements. 

Cutting-edge companies looking to get ahead of the curve are forming partnerships in this burgeoning technology invented a decade ago by Satoshi Nakamoto – the name used by the unknown person or people who designed bitcoin and created its original reference implementation – for use in the cryptocurrency bitcoin.

“Virtually everyone has heard the claim that blockchain will revolutionize business and redefine companies and economies, but it is in its infantile stage within the food supply chain,” says FoodLogiQ Chief Technology Officer Charles Irizarry. “We are finding that companies are jumping into blockchain pilots without first understanding their business problems. We look forward to working with current and future blockchain pilot partners to help them navigate this complex landscape and collaborate on how blockchain can support their unique business.” 

According to the company, FoodLogiQ is uniquely positioned to spearhead a blockchain pilot. The business was formed out of Clarkston Consulting in 2006, following the implementation of a Canadian cattle traceability program. Founded on this heritage of traceability, FoodLogiQ and its customer solutions grew as it became clear there was a need in the market for end-to-end traceability at food companies. Shaping policy at the national level, FoodLogiQ helped to define the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) standards and was an active technology participant in the FDA's Pilot Projects for Improving Product Tracing along theFood Supply System.

Leveraging the best technology practices and a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, FoodLogiQ created FoodLogiQ Connect, a cloud-based supplier transparency and traceability solution that unlocks huge value across food company supply chains. Since that time, FoodLogiQ has captured and tracked more than 10 million traceability events using the state-of-the-art technology platform.

The announcement was officially made at GS1 Connect, the annual conference of GS1 US, a not-for-profit information standards organization that helps improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards. FoodLogiQ leverages these standards throughout its Connect platform, and data stored by FoodLogiQ's pilot blockchain will leverage GS1 standards and be formatted for shared communications and data. A qualified GS1 US Solution Partner, FoodLogiQ is also a member of the Foodservice and Retail Grocery Initiatives, with active involvement in shaping these standards through a variety of workgroups.

The FoodLogiQ Labs announcement comes hot on the heels of the company's US$19.5 million financing in March 2018 to accelerate FoodLogiQ's rapid expansion across the food industry.
 
The round of financing includes strategic investors Testo, Inc., a global provider of HACCP solutions and IoT technology, and Tyson Ventures, the corporate venture subsidiary of Tyson Foods, along with Pontifax AgTech, Nicola Wealth Management, a Canadian-based asset fund management and private investment counsel firm, and Greenhouse Capital, an investor in emerging businesses that promote health and sustainable living. The round was led by Renewal Funds when the mission-based venture capital firm invested in FoodLogiQ in September 2017.

When approached by FoodIngredientsFirst, a Tyson spokesperson declined to comment further, “as it was too early in the process.”

Earlier in the week, Tyson Foods agreed to sell its Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and Van’s businesses to private equity firm Kohlberg & Company in a deal which includes the Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and Van’s brands, and a license to use the Sara Lee brand in specific channels.

Elsewhere, tech startup eHarvestHub is rolling out a blockchain-enabled platform that makes it simple to track food through the supply chain, quickly identifying and eliminating potential sources of contamination. Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst recently, CEO of eHarvestHub, Alvaro Ramirez, talks about how important it is to determine the cause of contamination quickly – something that blockchain technology can help to combat. You can read the interview here.