FACT Water Embraces Transparency

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Crown Holdings Inc., a product packaging company, is launching FACT Water—an all-natural sparkling water for sale in the U.K. and select European countries. The beverage will include a scannable code on the can’s packaging that will provide consumers greater transparency about the water’s source.

“Millennials value transparency,” Matthew Twiss, marketing and business development director, of Crown, told Blockchain News, “and welcome the opportunity to see for themselves how their favorite brands are contributing to the well-being of the world we live in.”

Consumers can scan their beverage code, found on the pull-tab on the top of the can, to unlock rewards and discounts based on previous purchases and consumption habits using the newly-founded platform Almond.

Almond, founded by entrepreneur Olly Bolton, is a blockchain application wherein users can scan their product’s code in order to earn tokens that are redeemable for cash. When scanning the code, consumers can also find information on supply chains and operations involved in the creation of FACT Water.

For decades, beverage and food companies have been criticized for their sourcing practices. In 2004, the Coca-Cola company was scrutinized for practices involving tapping small water sources in developing countries. College students from the University of Michigan protested the soda company for its involvement in causing water shortages in India. In 2018, Coca-Cola’s water supply chain sourcing is still under public scrutiny, as The Verge reported in May.

Through Almond’s blockchain technology, information on company practices can be in the palm of customer’s hands, and could incentivize businesses to do what consumers expect of them.

Almond’s FACT Water is the first of what the company says will be many transparent products to come from the platform.

“From our perspective,” Twiss wrote in an email to Blockchain News, “consumers, particularly millennials are increasingly asking for more transparency, something that brands wanting to cater to their customers’ needs, will need to be aware of.”

By providing greater availability of transparency in the company and its’ products, Crown hopes to foster brand loyalty in their customers. In a study published by Label Insight on brand transparency, a survey found:

  • 96 percent of respondents reported that they would be loyal to brands that value transparency
  • 56 percent reported that after switching to a brand for its transparency, they are likely to stay with that brand forever
  • 78 percent said they trusted transparent brands more than non-transparent brands

“Almond established a new type of relationship between brands and consumers,” says Bolton in a press release. “[O]ne that is symbiotic and mutually beneficial, giving consumers control and autonomy over the type of brands they buy, while also rewarding their loyalty.”