Hershey’s Sourcemap Provides Greater Food Transparency

The interactive online tool gives consumers the ability to trace ingredients back to the agricultural source.

March 22, 2017

HERSHEY, Pa. – Last week, The Hershey Company launched Sourcemap, its latest effort toward greater food transparency. Now more than ever, consumers are demanding to know more about what is in their food, where the ingredients come from and how products are made.

“Hershey is committed to openly sharing information about the ingredients in our products. That’s why we’re exploring new technologies like Sourcemap that provide visibility into the supply chain by letting consumers trace the agricultural ingredients back to where they were grown or made,” Deb Arcoleo, director of product transparency for The Hershey Company, told NACS Daily.

Sourcemap’s interactive mapping tool provides visibility into the supply chain by allowing consumers trace the agricultural ingredients back to where they were grown or made for. By hovering over each ingredient, consumers can learn more through a gallery of information, photos and videos, including how it is farmed or harvested and details about sustainable sourcing initiatives.

“SmartLabel does a great job telling consumers about the ingredients in a product, their definitions and why they are in the product,” Arcoleo said. “We wanted to go the next step and talk more about where key ingredients originate, and how they are grown and harvested. With Sourcemap, by clicking on each ingredient’s node on the map, consumers can learn more through a gallery of information, photos and videos, including how it is farmed or harvested and details about sustainable sourcing initiatives.”

Visitors to Sourcemap can discover the story of how cocoa beans are harvested from cacao trees in Ghana or learn more about the almond groves of California’s Central Valley—all ingredients found in consumers favorite Hershey products. “Food and ingredient transparency is important to a broad range of consumers, no matter where they shop. Sourcemap gives consumers a new level insight into ingredients and where they come from that is reassuring to consumers as well as the retailers that offer these products,” Arcoleo said.

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