A virtuous supply chain isn’t just for your back office— make it your brand

INFUSE TRANSPARENCY INTO THE PRODUCT

The clear capsules that West Hollywood, California–based Ritual sells are a potent visual metaphor for what sets the company apart: total supply chain transparency. Many multivitamins have 50-plus ingredients that are impossible for consumers to trace. Ritual’s non-GMO, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, and dye-free vegan vitamins contain just nine ingredients, the origins of which are listed on the company’s website, along with details of where each vitamin was manufactured and the clinical trials that influenced its dosage. In an industry known for its opacity, making that information available took some serious persuading, says founder Katerina Schneider. “We were firm about holding ourselves to that higher standard,” she says.

USE TECH TO TELL A STORY

Once Red’s Best was able to track its seafood supply chain in real time, not sharing that information felt like a missed opportunity to show consumers that their purchase was supporting sustainable local practices. So founder Jared Auerbach turned to QR codes: Before the company’s bluefin tuna or razor clams are sold and shipped to wholesalers or restaurants, they’re tagged with a unique code that, once scanned, details which fishermen caught them, where, and when. “With our supply chain data, we can package the story of our fish to share with our customers and their customers,” he says.

EDIT THE NARRATIVE

Supply chain aficionados might want to geek out on how much water it takes to manufacture boxes, but most consumers will run from an avalanche of info. “We don’t want to bombard the consumer, so we needed to stage the message,” says Foodstirs co-founder Greg Fleishman. Foodstirs’ packaging includes information most important to its customers, like the product’s clean ingredients and thirdparty certifications.