Aveda: pioneering blockchain technology in the supply chain | Technology

In an announcement made by Aveda the company strives to continue its commitment to sustainable sourcing and creating a transparent supply chain by pioneering the power of blockchain technology for its vanilla sourcing.

February 2019, Aveda launched a pilot program to leverage blockchain technology in its Madagascan vanilla supply chain partnering with LMR Naturals by IFF, BioVanilla, BSR and Wholechain.

In piloting the use of this technology, Aveda stands to gain further ingredient traceability by collecting data from its supply chain partners in real time, via a secure and digital system.

“We are proud to be among the first beauty players to launch a successful, commercial blockchain pilot at such scale, furthering our work in the area of responsible sourcing. This program will bring blockchain-enabled, traceable vanilla to more than 125 Aveda products in spring 2021,” commented Aveda.

Creating transparency

“Blockchain technology provides an immutable reference that can be used to verify claims of the source and quality of ingredients, such as the Madagascan vanilla we use in our products,” states Aveda, who further highlights that with 80% of the world’s vanilla coming from small Madagascan farms, the complexities in the supply chain are multilayered, including price fluctuations, climate challenges and intensive farming needs.

Using mobile phones and QR codes, Aveda explains that their blockchain innovation partner Wholechain “creates a tamper-proof record using blockchain tracing of each vanilla bean’s journey throughout the supply chain […] Ultimately, this traceability is important because it will help to demonstrate sustainable, responsible sourcing, high quality ingredients, and more transparency for all stakeholders,” adds Avenda. 

This pilot is expected to provide a strong proof-of-concept for the use of blockchain to increase traceability in complex supply chains, with hopes to benefit the wider community.

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