F&B advisor joins provenance platform

Authentication and customer insights platform Orijin Plus has hired PR advisor Danica Bunch and food and beverage industry veteran Scott Mendelsohn as it readies its launch in Singapore later in the year.

Mendelsohn brings his experience from the FMCG sector, having previously founded coconut water brand Natural Raw C. He and Bunch also previously worked at FMCG company HubbCo.

The Orijin Plus platform uses blockchain technology to help trace a product’s journey through the entire supply chain, on to retail shelves and through to final consumption.

The company’s founders — West Australian born and raised, James and Rhys Williamson — were living and working in China in 2013 when they identified a gap in the Asian market for authenticated Australian produce. The tech platform they developed has evolved over the years and now provides visibility for the brand owner about who is consuming the end product and visibility for consumer about the full supply chain journey each product took, from paddock to plate. It therefore provides product provenance while also providing clients with demographic and consumption information.

“Scott and Danica will be instrumental in helping Orijin Plus continue to build the right mix of premium brands for each target market,” James Williamson said.

“They’ll join our growing team of international experts to ensure Orijin Plus achieves its goals of building and maintaining a unique, targeted and competitive edge for premium Australian food and beverage brands.”

According to Mendelsohn, consumers in overseas markets held Australian produce in high regard due to its clean credentials, but that also created higher risk of fraudulent products entering the market and posing a threat to the Australian provenance story. Mendelsohn said that the platform had the chance to offer businesses unique insights with its multi-pronged approach.

“For brands wanting to export and those that may already be involved with export markets, Orijin Plus offers a really exciting opportunity because it helps maintain the security and integrity of a product using blockchain technology to track it from its origin to the end consumer,” Mendelsohn said.

“Having access to that end-user data helps brands to further educate consumers in overseas markets and build loyal followings, and that’s something that no other platform is offering.”

The platform will be launching in Singapore and will subsequently provide its services in Hong Kong and China.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/greenbutterfly