What does sustainability mean to ofi?
Sustainability Series: 001
ofi’s deep-rooted presence in all major spices as well as cocoa, coffee, and nuts origins brings us close to the source of production. Our network of farmers, sustainability teams, agronomists, R&D specialists, and quality teams, allow us to influence how products are made, from the farms and facilities where they are produced, to the innovation centres exploring new ingredients and formulations. By working and co-creating with us, you and your company can make substantial progress towards your sustainability goals and help us create real change for the people and the planet!
The way sustainability is built into the ofi business model is set out on ofi.com. In our spices business, this means opportunities to deliver positive impact and value for farmers, customers, and partners by:
Scaling sustainability through innovative sector partnerships:
- Producing a sustainable onion
- The various ways we are accomplishing this is we have significantly reduced our environmental footprint by developing a proprietary seed to produce onions with more dry matter to boost yield and reduce the amount of land, water, fertilizer and pesticides needed per acre.
- Improving farmer livelihoods, community health, and well-being
- For example, our team is working with smallholder farmers, including turmeric and cumin growers in India on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) trainings that has reduced inputs and more.
- The ofi team has taken several assessments to identify better opportunities to improve the overall health and well-being of our farmers and their families + see what their needs are.
Piloting innovative regenerative practices:
- The "Clean Pepper Project" - Reducing inputs and labor costs
- This project provides comprehensive training to enhance farmer livelihoods, reduce environmental impacts and improve the quality of black pepper in Vietnam.
- Started in 2017, this project has grown to include 400+ farmers.
Improving technology (data and insights) to offer transaprency across the supply chain:
- We’re always investing in new technology to assist with our sustainability efforts. Technology plays a vital role in helping us transform our agricultural supply chains and improving global food systems to gather better data, improve traceability, and plan initiatives. One of the innovative ways we are using technology to tackle sustainability is by using our award-winning sustainability insights/management platform – AtSource. The AtSource dashboard gives us and our customers detailed insights into the journey of ingredients and the lives of the people who are involved in producing them.
- Sourcing and producing sustainable ingredients with traceability from farm to shelf has become increasingly important to food manufacturers.
- Did you know? 75% of consumers would switch to a brand that provides more information about a products’ origins?*
*2020 McKinsey US consumer sentiment survey