Page 52 - Demo

SUSTAINABILITY HOW RETAILERS CAN FUTURE-PROOF THEIR BRAND Organic food company Loving Earth’s chocolate is made from cacao based on organic agriculture at its place of origin in a remote forest at Ashaninka near the source of the Amazon River in Peru. The company’s Creative Director, Martha Butler, tells Retail World that organic agriculture’s benefits for the environment are especially important in the current environmental crisis. “By supporting organic products, retailers make forward-looking choices by supporting healthy soil and the lessened impact of pesticides and herbicides in waterways and soil, as well as on human bodies,” she said. “They also offer conscious consumers products that align with their values.” This is increasingly important, as former Unilever CEO Patrick Cescau notes. “The conscious consumer, one who cares about transparency and ethics in business, is here to stay,” he said. “If you look at the millennials’ point of view, they want to know the company behind a brand, its values and what it does for society and the community. What’s important is that big business realises that what were in the past seen as big obstacles to growth are now opportunities.” This means retailers that support organics are future-proofing their brand, says Ms Butler, by backing key solutions to the current climate crisis. “Things like organic food and drastic reduction in disposable plastics are no longer simply a personal choice,” she said. “They’re a clear climate imperative. The UN has said we’ve likely only got 60 harvests left before the soil becomes too barren to feed the planet.” Loving Earth says it contributes to sustainability by working with the indigenous Kemito Ene cooperative in the Amazon region to source regeneratively grown cacao, helping the group since 2014 to establish infrastructure, financing and demand for its crop. “Loving Earth holds the trademark for Regenerative Chocolate, and this topic \\\\\\\[regenerative agriculture\\\\\\\] along with climate positive food, is one Loving Earth’s founder, Scott Fry, has been championing for years,” Ms Butler said. Regenerative agriculture and climate positive food According to the ‘Trends Report for 2020’ from US based multinational supermarket chain Whole Foods Market, which is popularly known for its organic selections, ‘regenerative agriculture’ and ‘climate positive food’ relate to “farming and grazing practices that restore degraded soil, improve biodiversity and increase carbon capture to create long-lasting environmental benefits”. Ms Butler says sustainability is no longer enough: the planet needs to regenerate to survive. US non-profit organisation the Rodale Institute, which created the first certification program standardising regenerative farming technique, has recently developed regenerative organic certification, which is being championed by big-name US social enterprise brands, including Patagonia and Dr Bronner’s. AUSTRALIAN TOATEA Directors Sean Issell and Jay Shao of Melbourne based milk tea company NineCha made an “amazing” discovery when they came together in 2018 to review development opportunities for an Australian made beverage. “We couldn’t believe that the milk tea category was a $2 billion category in Asia, whereas there wasn’t one Australian company making an Australian ready-to-drink milk tea,” Mr Shao said. Mr Issell adds that Australia has the best ingredients for the product locally, making it opportune to manufacture its 9 CHA brand tea in this country. Therefore, despite making inquiries aimed at setting up operations overseas for the export of raw materials, the two entrepreneurs brought together their experience and set up NineCha. “We were adamant that the product had to be made right here in Australia, from as many local ingredients as possible,” Mr Shao said. Mr Issel highlights that currently more than 95 per cent of its milk tea ingredients are acquired from Australian raw material suppliers. “Australian manufacturing equals Australian jobs right here in our own backyard,” Mr Shao said. “It took a while to get in front of key suppliers, but once we got there, sharing our vision for the brand was incredible.” Mr Issell says the support the company has received from both federal and state governments has been “huge”. “The team at \\\\\\\[Victorian government agency\\\\\\\] Global Victoria have been there with us every step of the way,” he said. “It felt like a partner right from the very start.” The 9 CHA milk tea is available in 200ml packs in Original, Wildberry and Jasmine flavours. “We’ve been very lucky so far to have the support from a number of independent retailers and wholesalers,” Mr Issell said. “Now’s the time to take the brand to the next level.” “Australian manufacturing equals Australian jobs right here in our own backyard.” 50 RETAIL WORLD NOV, 2020