DiMuto CEO Gary Loh has been invited to join Produce Marketing Association’s Global Development Committee for 2021.
The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is a trade organization representing companies from every segment of the global fresh produce and floral supply chain. PMA aims to connect, inform and deliver industry solutions to enhance members’ prosperity and is increasingly seen as a trusted resource and thought leader for the growth of the global produce and floral industry.
The Global Development Committee (GDC) is a committee aiming to foster global business connections and intelligence for current and future PMA members, and support the global growth strategy of PMA. The GDC works to identify global issues that impact the produce and floral industries and is the first line of sight to identify global opportunities for growth. It is also part of PMA’s overall mission to bring global fruit and vegetable and floral communities together in order to cultivate a healthier world.
Recently, the PMA GDC has met up in Singapore to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by producers in Southeast Asia markets, as well as in Spain, a European leader in production of fruits and vegetables, so as to provide solutions to challenges in these economies.
“A lack of visibility in the Messy Middle of global produce supply chains has contributed to problems with food safety and food waste. The pandemic has hit the industry hard, and there has been much conversation around how technology like blockchain can help to solve some of the problems faced by the value chain. I look forward to helping PMA and its members explore applicable solutions for challenges faced by the global fresh produce and floral industry, ” said Gary Loh, Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has led to widespread disruption of the fresh produce industry, driving change at a rapid pace, affecting the way the fresh produce industry works, lives, eats, moves and uses technology. Looking at how the industry can work towards becoming more resilient towards such disruptions, as well as recovery growth opportunities in the various markets will be a key focus for the incoming committee,” from Nancy Tucker, Vice President, Global Business Development of PMA.
Listen to PMA’s podcast PMA Takes on Tech, and join our CEO Gary Loh, along with Vonnie Estes, VP of Technology at PMA, Seana Day, Partner at Better Food Ventures and Kim Rui, Global Head, FreshCloud Infrastructure and Analytics at AgroFresh, as they discuss how technology can help growers, packers and shippers along the value chain, especially in The First Mile and Messy Middle.
Access the podcast here – https://bit.ly/2UEoRwg
Newton Orchards is now able to connect with its end consumers directly, launching a marketing campaign that raises awareness of the Newton Orchards brand while implementing DiMuto’s SMART marketing services to communicate its from farm to table traceability story to consumers in Australia.
DiMuto’s QR code-driven SMART marketing services are a cost-effective solution for reaching end consumers and communicating traceability brand stories from farmers and producers.
About Newton Orchards
A key Western Australia orchard, Newton Orchards of Manjimup is a family owned and operated business for over 90 years and four generations. Over the years, it has grown to one of the most trusted fruit growers in Australia.
Has a fruit derivative beverage line of ciders and juices to reduce food waste
Grows a wide variety of crops, such as apples, pears, and cherries
Supplies fresh produce to major retail supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths.
Industry: fresh produce
Location: Manjimup, Western Australia
Dimuto’s Results
DiMuto Digital Asset Creation (DAC) and the trading platform provided trade traceability that helped provide complete supply chain visibility
SMART marketing solutions helped engage end consumers and strengthen the Newton Orchard brand
Key Challenges
Unable to engage end consumers directly and learn more about their customers
Unable to meet consumer demand for traceability of their fresh produce
Difficult to conduct cross-promotion for their fresh and beverage products
Challenging to differentiate the Newton Orchards apples from other existing brands in the market
For many growers and producers, it is often difficult to differentiate their products from existing products and brands in the market. This makes entries into new markets or sales channel challenging. Additionally, being at the upstream of the food supply chain, they often rely on intermediaries to deliver the product to the end consumers and as such, have no way of directly communicating with the people who consume their products.
At the same time, more and more consumers are looking for traceability when it comes to fresh produce, as they want to be certain that the produce they are purchasing has been safely handled and are of good quality. While farmers have been complying with safety regulations and good processing practices, it is difficult to communicate this to the end consumers.
How DiMuto Helps
DiMuto’s SMART Marketing solution provides a simple solution that connects the farmers to the end consumers. As part of DiMuto’s trade solutions platform, the Sales & Marketing Retention & Awareness Tool (SMART) Marketing solution allows fresh produce growers and suppliers like Newton Orchards to conduct cost effective marketing campaigns to engage consumers.
With DiMuto SMART Marketing, Newton Orchards is able to communicate to end consumers using the DiMuto QR Labels tagged on every apple. When consumers scan the QR code, they now have the power to know the journey behind a simple apple, and learn about the origin of the apples, farming practices and history of the four-generation farm.
Newton Orchards SMART Marketing Lucky Draw Campaign
Newton Orchards is now also able to conduct direct marketing campaigns through DiMuto SMART Marketing. It has hosted a lucky draw campaign for its Western Australia market, aiming to raise awareness about its apple juices and ciders, as well as its traceability story for the fresh Pink Lady apples.
Point of Sales Marketing by Newton Orchards
The marketing campaign has garnered positive feedback from consumers on the ground with its point-of sales tasting and marketing, showing that consumers respond to traceability and QR marketing. The lucky draw mechanism also allows Newton Orchards to gain an understanding of the behaviour and profile of their end consumers, and build a relationship with them.
Point of sales tasting campaigns in Gilbert’s Fresh Market, Western Australia
To utilize DiMuto SMART Marketing, Newton Orchards deploy DiMuto traceability solutions in order to capture their supply chain information, including DiMuto QR Labels. This allows them to communicate a verifiable traceability story to end consumers and use traceability as a tool to differentiate their brand.
Newton Orchard Pink Lady Apples with DiMuto Hybrid QR TagsAdam Buckley, Logistics Manager of Newton Orchards, with Charlie Opferkuch, Owner/Manager of Gilbert’s Fresh Market Hilton owner/manager
“We are excited to partner with DiMuto as part of our commitment to deliver sustainable and safe food to Australian consumers. By being able to track each apple from the farm to fork, we’re able to guarantee food integrity that customers can enjoy the apples in a way that’s closer to nature,” said Harvey Giblett, owner and manager of Newton Orchards.
With DiMuto-verified products and trade, Newton Orchards is now able to leverage traceability to differentiate their brand and strengthen their farm to table brand to end consumers.
If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps fresh produce growers to grow their brand with traceability, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.
During the first ever digital edition of the Asia Fruit Logistica (AFL) last week, the fresh produce industry took a look at the future of Asia and Southeast Asia for the fresh produce industry.
Recovery of Asian markets
Like we predicted in our previous article, Asia’s fresh produce trade is set to bounce back and recover from the global pandemic according to the panel of experts in Asia Fruit Congress 2020. As the Fruitnet report on the event states, even a tourism-based economy like Thailand is beginning to see signs of recovery, and consumers in Asia are already veering towards e-commerce well before the coronavirus.
Demand for traceable produce
More and more consumers in Asia are expecting traceability when it comes to fresh produce, according to key findings in a Southeast Asian market report from The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) shared during AFL. Consumers in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are looking for traceable, high quality and premium fresh produce.
Excerpt from AusTrade sharing session during AFL2020
Opportunities for fresh produce suppliers
For produce grower-exporters looking to enter the different Asian markets, this presents a great opportunity to leverage traceability as a way to differentiate your brand of fresh produce from others in the market.
In order for traceability to make sense to producers, the value it can bring to the table has to be outweigh the cost of implementing new technologies and adapting existing work flows. Thus, “will consumers pay a premium for traceability?” is a big but necessary question that producers ask when it comes to the topic of traceability. According to a scientific study published by the Europe PMC, about 70% of consumers in China are willing to pay a premium for traceable fresh pork, and quality certification mattered most. A report by the Label Insight and Food Marketing Institute found that 75% of consumers are more likely to switch to a brand that provides more in-depth product information beyond what is provided on the physical label. 73% of consumers are also willing to pay more for such information transparency, and 56% of them trust brands that provide these information more.
By engaging end consumers at the retail level and showing them that your produce has been tracked and trace from farm to fork, producers are able to build trust with end consumers and strengthen their brand with an ability to command higher price premiums and more loyal customers.
Getting Started – First Trace, then Communicate
How to get started? Firstly, producers will need to deploy traceability systems to make sure that they can see all the important supply chain information in one place.
This means that the information on the fruit level has to be tracked and recorded throughout the supply chain, beginning from the packhouse or farm and continue as it travels towards the consumer. Information here includes fruit quality, product certificates stating origin, good manufacturing practices and more.
It is also important to ensure the integrity of the information, so that producers can communicate information that is verified – which is why many grower-exporters have been looking at blockchain for its ability to preserve and record information in a shared, immutable manner.
QR codes on fruit labels that give the ability to communicate to consumers directly
Then, there is the issue of communicating such provenance information to consumers. How can producers directly engage end consumers around the world? The answer lies, simply, in QR labels. When producers label every single fruit with a QR code, consumers can then scan the code with their mobile phones to retrieve and access such information.
DiMuto SMART Marketing Tool – Traceability with a Story
DiMuto helps produce suppliers to digitize, organize and capitalize their product and trade data. With our trade solutions, producers can track and trace their products, down to every single carton and every single product on one single platform. This product level of granularity is then combined with the relevant trade information such as shipping information and buyer receipt information on the blockchain.
As part of our trade services helping suppliers to capitalize on their traceability data, the DiMuto Sales & Marketing Retention & Awareness Tool (SMART) Marketing solution then helps brand owners and suppliers to communicate this traceability information to end consumers.
Our product page allows you to conduct cost effective marketing campaigns to engage end consumers – consumers will be able to see verified product origins, obtain information about the farm and growing practices, as well as learn new recipes and participate in exciting lucky draw promotions conducted directly by growers and brands. Consumers are also able to leave feedback on the produce quality, giving suppliers important information about the product quality and consumer experience, something that producers were previously unable to learn about due to supply chain complexity.
Consumers are able to access verified traceability story of their produce with DiMuto
We have helped suppliers like Newton Orchards, Morning Glory Farms and Pukuna Farms to engage end consumers with our solutions. Click on the links to read their customer success story.
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If you are interested to learn more about our solutions, please contact sales@dimuto.io.
[PRESS RELEASE]
Newton Orchards, Key Western Australian Apple Orchard, Deploys DiMuto Solution to Strengthen Brand with Local Farm to Fork Traceability Story
DiMuto, a tech-based trade solutions platform, to track and trace produce for full supply chain visibility for Newton Orchards, a fruit grower in Western Australia, beginning with the Pink Lady apples
Newton Orchards will launch a comprehensive point-of-sale marketing campaign to raise awareness for Newton Orchards’ brand while deploying DiMuto’s SMART Marketing services to communicate their farm to fork traceability story to Australian consumers
The SMART Marketing services powered by DiMuto QR codes is a cost-effective solution to reach out to end consumers and communicate traceability brand stories of farmers and growers
Newton Orchards is a family owned fourth-generation fruit supplying a variety of apples, pears and cherries. Newton Orchards owns one of the largest orchards in WA and supplies to major Australian supermarkets Coles and Woolworths.
Singapore, 17 November 2020 – DiMuto, a trade technology solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global agri-food businesses, has partnered with Newton Orchards to commence its produce traceability and marketing solutions for Newton Orchards produce, beginning with the Pink Lady apples this season.
Using DiMuto’s 4T Suite Solutions, Newton Orchards will tag its apples for produce traceability and supply chain visibility. Newton Orchards will also tap on DiMuto SMART Marketing services to engage end consumers with its traceability story while also working closely with DiMuto as part of their trade network to explore export opportunities.
Newton Orchards of Manjimup is a family owned and managed fruit growing business founded in 1929. With several orchards located around the Southern Forests region growing apples, pears and cherries, Newton Orchards is one of the largest orchards in Western Australia. The fourth-generation grower supplies major supermarkets in Australia Coles and Woolworths with over 7000 tonnes of apples each year.
Newton Orchards was among the first to commercially grow Pink Lady apples, a variety that was originally developed in Manjimup. Newtons have also backed Bravo®, the newest apple to come from the same Pink Lady breeding programme.
“We are excited to partner with DiMuto as part of our commitment to deliver sustainable and safe food to Australian consumers. By being able to track each apple from the farm to fork, we’re able to guarantee food integrity that customers can enjoy the apples in a way that’s closer to nature,” said Harvey Giblett, owner and manager of Newton Orchards.
The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain by capturing important data at key supply chain stages. Individual products and cartons are tagged with DiMuto QR codes to assign each one a digital identity. These products and cartons are then digitalized through DiMuto’s proprietary Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky). All critical information at each supply chain milestone is also recorded on the DiMuto Platform to truly close the supply chain loop on one single platform, creating full supply chain visibility.
Newton Orchard Pink Lady Apples with DiMuto Hybrid QR Labels
Every apple will be tagged with DiMuto QR codes that can be scanned by end consumers with any mobile phones. Through the DiMuto Sales & Marketing Retention & Awareness Tool (SMART) Marketing solution, consumers will be directed to a product page that gives them easy access to traceability information and product origin. Consumers will also be able to learn more about the Newton Orchards farm, its growing practices and get to know the story of Newton Orchards farmers. Educational information like recipes and videos, as well as promotions and lucky draws can also be found. Consumers are also encouraged to leave feedback on their produce, allowing Newton Orchards to gain important information about the quality of the product and the consumer experience.
Adam Buckley, Logistics Manager of Newton Orchards, with Charlie Opferkuch, Owner/Manager of Gilbert’s Fresh Market Hilton owner/manager Newton Orchard Pink Lady Apples with DiMuto Hybrid QR Labels in Gilbert’s Fresh Market
Western Australian consumers will get to learn more about Newton Orchards’ traceability story in the early November, in a collaboration between Newtons and local premium independent retailer Gilbert’s Fresh Market, Hilton. Newton Orchards will launch a point-of-sale marketing campaign to promote their brand of apples, juices, and ciders. DiMuto will assist Newton Orchards in hosting a digital lucky draw campaign, where consumers can participate in the promotion through the DiMuto QR codes and stand a chance to win an exciting array of products and grocery vouchers.
“We look forward to working closely with Newton Orchards for a fully traceable supply chain. DiMuto’s trade solutions provide growers such as Newton Orchards with full supply chain visibility and allows them to tell their traceability story to end consumers in a verified, accessible manner,” said Gary Loh, founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
DiMuto’s deal with Newton Orchards follows closely after DiMuto’s partnership with Morning Glory Farms, a third-and-fourth generation farmer and grower in Western Australia. To date, DiMuto has tagged over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agri-food trades. With presence in 8 countries including China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, the collaboration with Newton Orchards will strengthen DiMuto’s reach in Asia-Pacific and beyond.
Newton Orchards SMART Marketing Lucky Draw Campaign
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About Newton Orchards
A family owned and operated business for more than 90 years and four generations, Newton Orchards of Manjimup has grown to become one of the most trusted fruit growers in Australia. Our several picturesque orchards located around Manjimup, in Western Australia’s beautiful Southern Forests region, grow world’s best quality apples, pears and cherries for your table – including delicious new apple varieties like Kanzi and Bravo.
About DiMuto
DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce.
The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution, a 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT, creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over eight countries and five continents.
DiMuto is founded by chief executive officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.
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For media queries, please contact:
HuiMin LEE
Email: huimin@dimuto.io
Mercy Relief is now able to create gain visibility for the entire disaster relief operation – from purchasing of relief supplies to receipt of supplies by affected communities.
About Mercy Relief
Headquartered in Singapore, Mercy Relief was established in 2003 to respond to human tragedies and disasters in the Asia Pacific. Today, we are Singapore’s leading independent disaster relief agency with dedicated leadership, capacity building expertise and an affiliate network operating across the entire disaster management cycle.
Mercy Relief provides emergency aid within 72 hours of an international appeal in the aftermath of a disaster. The objective of our longer-term sustainable development programmes is to uplift and empower communities in five key areas: water and sanitation, shelter, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare, and education. For the past 17 years, Mercy Relief has responded to more than 84 human tragedies with more than $44.6 million in relief across 26 countries. We have implemented more than 65 post disaster projects and impacted over 2.5 million lives.
Location: Singapore
Industry: Humanitarian aid
Present in over 26 countries
Provides emergency aid within 72 hours of disasters, delivering emergency aid to affected communities
DiMuto Results
DiMuto Digital Asset Creation (DAC) helped to create digital identities for humanitarian aid items for remote traceability purposes
DiMuto blockchain-powered traceability platform provided line-of-sight on operations of humanitarian response in Indonesia and Bangladesh
Key Challenges: Inability to Travel During COVID-19 Made Operations Oversight and Accountability Challenging
Before covid-19, as part of their international response effort, Mercy Relief used to deploy a member from their programmes team as part of their disaster response team to disaster zones. Having a personnel member to oversee the humanitarian aid response, it allowed Mercy Relief to ensure that the ground operations was flowing smoothly and work closely with local partners to provide help needed.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that travelling down to disaster zones was no longer an option. This made oversight of the NGO’s humanitarian response in the different countries challenging.
“Travel disruptions brought on by COVID-19 have made it difficult for our team to be physically present at disaster zones. Partnering with DiMuto helps us maintain transparency and accountability in all our disaster response efforts and assures timely relief to communities most in need,” said Carol Lee, Executive Director of Mercy Relief.
How DiMuto Helps
All aid items will be tracked using DiMuto’s traceability solutions. With its full-fledged traceability solution, DiMuto is able to create visibility for the entire disaster relief operation – from purchasing of relief supplies to receipt of supplies by affected communities.
Aid items will be digitalized using DiMuto QR labels and tracked on the DiMuto Platform. Relevant shipping and transaction information will be associated with the relevant aid item. This means that Mercy Relief will be able to see the exact resources and documentation information for every single relief effort, down to individual aid items. To ascertain that funds provided to local partners in disaster areas are being used to help affected families and communities, the receipt of aid by affected communities will also be tracked via the DiMuto Receiver App. All records made on the blockchain-powered DiMuto Platform will be immutable and verified, safeguarding accountability and transparency for the entire disaster relief effort.
Mercy Relief provided Covid-19 swab booths, that were tracked and traced by DiMuto
For instance, as part of their Covid-19 Relief Aid & Assistance programme, Mercy Relief supplied 10 hospitals in South Sulawesi, Indonesia with covid-19 swab booths. With DiMuto, they were able to create a unique digital identity for each of the swab booth, and track their distribution on our blockchain-powered platform.
The locally made swab booths allow people with coronavirus symptoms to get tested while bolstering the safety of the medical team and their other patients, helping the hospitals to manage covid-19 cases more effectively.
Mercy Relief team scanning QR codes for traceability of their ground operations on DiMuto platform
Covid-19 aid relief items individually tracked on the DiMuto traceability platform
DiMuto provided Mercy Relief operations team the ability to track individual aid items and maintain accountability in their covid-19 response. By deploying DiMuto blockchain traceability, Mercy Relief can continue to ensure receipt by intended beneficiaries, creating transparency and building trust on-the-ground despite ongoing travel restrictions.
Khairul Massuan, Senior Manager, International Programme of Mercy Relief, commented, “DiMuto’s blockchain technology is not only user friendly but it is simple to use. It ensures real time monitoring of the procurement to the distribution of our relief aid items through the scanning of QR code. It helps us maintain traceability & accountability more efficiently. Thank you DiMuto for the partnership.”
With DiMuto, Mercy Relief is now able to efficiently maintain traceability & accountability for their international humanitarian response throughout the region, even with travel restrictions brought about by the coronavirus.
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If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto can help create visibility and traceability for your business, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.
[PRESS RELEASE]
Mercy Relief uses Blockchain Traceability Solution by DiMuto for Its Humanitarian Crisis Response Amidst COVID-19
Mercy Relief, a Singapore-based disaster relief agency, will be using the Blockchain Traceability Solution from DiMuto, a trade technology solutions company, to gain visibility and traceability for humanitarian crises response amidst COVID-19
Active across 26 countries, Mercy Relief is Singapore’s only homegrown independent non-governmental humanitarian charity. Since 2003, Mercy Relief has responded to more than 84 human tragedies with more than $44.6 million in relief and implemented over 65 post disaster projects and impacted an aggregate of over 2.5 million lives
Travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the ongoing pandemic have created a lack of visibility for international crisis responses, making humanitarian accountability challenging
DiMuto traceability solutions will help Mercy Relief track humanitarian relief aid items to ensure receipt by intended beneficiaries, creating transparency and building trust with on-the-ground local partners as well as donors
The collaboration is part of DiMuto’s CSR efforts and commitment in continuing to create positive impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership demonstrates value of DiMuto solutions and ability to work across industries where there is disconnected visibility of supply chains and operations
Singapore, 26th October 2020 – Mercy Relief, Singapore’s leading independent disaster relief agency, will be using the Blockchain Traceability Solution from DiMuto, a trade technology solutions company providing end-to-end supply chain visibility platform for agri-food businesses, to track and trace their international relief work.
Mercy Relief is Singapore’s only homegrown independent non-governmental humanitarian charity. Established in 2003, the charity organization responds to immediate disasters in the Asian region, as well as organizing longer-term developmental projects that focus on water & sanitation, shelter, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare and education. Over the past decade, Mercy Relief has executed 84 separate immediate relief operations with more than $44.6 million in relief, as well as implemented 65 post disaster projects in over 26 countries, impacting over 2.5 million lives.
Mercy Relief responds within 72 hours of a disaster, delivering emergency aid to affected communities. The agency strives to work with local partners with proper financial accountability and ensure no duplication with the work done by other NGOs so that affected individuals and communities fully benefit.
As part of the partnership with DiMuto, all aid items will be tracked using DiMuto’s traceability solutions. With its full-fledged traceability solution, DiMuto is able to create visibility for the entire disaster relief operation – from purchasing of relief supplies to receipt of supplies by affected communities.
“Travel disruptions brought on by COVID-19 have made it difficult for our team to be physically present at disaster zones. Partnering with DiMuto helps us maintain transparency and accountability in all our disaster response efforts and assures timely relief to communities most in need,” said Carol Lee, Executive Director of Mercy Relief.
Aid items will be digitalized using DiMuto QR labels and tracked on the DiMuto Platform. Relevant shipping and transaction information will be associated with the relevant aid item. This means that Mercy Relief will be able to see the exact resources and documentation information for every single relief effort, down to individual aid items. To ascertain that funds provided to local partners in disaster areas are being used to help affected families and communities, the receipt of aid by affected communities will also be tracked via the DiMuto Receiver App. All records made on the blockchain-powered DiMuto Platform will be immutable and verified, safeguarding accountability and transparency for the entire disaster relief effort.
“We are glad to join forces with another Singapore-based organization like Mercy Relief and support their international humanitarian efforts. Similar to the agri-food industry, internationally coordinated humanitarian projects often face challenges from a lack of visibility and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic. This is where trust and transparency can be established using DiMuto Trade Solutions,” said Gary Loh, founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
Recognising the potential for DiMuto’s solution to support Mercy Relief’s humanitarian efforts, Enterprise Singapore facilitated an introduction between the two Singapore organisations in August 2020. According to Mr. Lee Yee Fung, Director, ICM & Digitalization, Enterprise Singapore, “Through partnerships, Singapore companies can harness the strengths and capabilities of each other to solve complex challenges and improve business outcomes. Companies can also provide innovative offerings to customers and broaden their relevance across sectors. We look forward to supporting more strategic partnerships between local enterprises that support their respective business goals.” Enterprise Singapore has been supporting DiMuto in their internationalisation efforts and development of technical capabilities.
The partnership with Mercy Relief will be the first footprint of the trade solutions company in international humanitarian aid. To date, DiMuto has digitized over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agri-food trades. With presence in eight countries including China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, the collaboration with Mercy Relief will expand use cases for the company’s trade solutions platform.
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About Mercy Relief
Headquartered in Singapore, Mercy Relief was established in 2003 to respond to human tragedies and disasters in the Asia Pacific. Today, we are Singapore’s leading independent disaster relief agency with dedicated leadership, capacity building expertise and an affiliate network operating across the entire disaster management cycle.
Mercy Relief provides emergency aid within 72 hours of an international appeal in the aftermath of a disaster. The objective of our longer-term sustainable development programmes is to uplift and empower communities in five key areas: water and sanitation, shelter, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare, and education. For the past 17 years, Mercy Relief has responded to more than 84 human tragedies with more than $44.6 million in relief across 26 countries. We have implemented more than 65 post disaster projects and impacted over 2.5 million lives.
For more information about Mercy Relief, please visit https://www.mercyrelief.orgAbout DiMuto
DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce.
The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution, a 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT, creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over eight countries and five continents.
DiMuto is founded by chief executive officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.
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For media queries, please contact:
Ain Hamzah
Mercy Relief
E: ain.hamzah@mercyrelief.org
HuiMin Lee
DiMuto
E: huimin@dimuto.io
Using Traceability For Brand EngagementDiMuto SMART Marketing helped Pukuna Farms to communicate directly to consumersAbout Pukuna Farms
They produce and exports exotics fruits from Ecuador in an easy and effective way.
They offer a wide range of fresh products of high quality.
Their customers are mainly wholesalers and distributors in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and USA .
DiMuto Results
DiMuto Digital Asset Creation (DAC) and Trade Platform provided trade traceability
With DiMuto traceability system and trade network, Pukuna Farms was able to enter into South East Asia Region
SMART Marketing Solutions helped engaged end consumers and strengthen Pukuna brand
Key Challenges:
The main challenge faced by Pukuna Farms was finding a way to expand its market to such an unknown region like Asia, coming from so far away (Ecuador). It is not easy to enter an unknown market and for that, the supplier has to be reliable, where consistent quality is key. Buyers need to be assured that suppliers will sell their fresh produce in good condition and they will be receiving the products as per specified. For that, it is important to have full visibility in the supply chain.
How DiMuto Helps
Thanks to DiMuto’s traceability solutions, Pukuna Farms was able to establish transparency of its product quality, increasing their reputation as a reliable supplier when it came to the export market. This helped to differentiate Pukuna Farms since it could provide traceability in its supply chain.
Leveraging DiMuto’s Global Trade Network of fresh produce buyers, Pukuna Farms was thus able to expand its export market by supplying DiMutofied pitahayas.
At the same time, DiMuto SMART Marketing digitalizes fresh produce and captures important supply chain information, telling the brand’s story to consumers.
With traceability and digitalization, Pukuna Farms was able to improve sales and branding.
Each Pitahaya is digitalized with DiMuto QR code so it can be tracked and traced on one single platform to provide full visibility as it moves through the supply chain. Product quality, farm information, trade information is captured on the DiMuto platform.
Trade information is visible to supply chain partners in order to establish trade traceability and transparency.
For end consumers, when they scan the QR code with a smartphone, they would be able to see all the information of the product and farm and gain knowledge on product provenance. At the same time, consumers can also take part in lucky draws and provide feedback.
In this way, Pukuna Farms can close the loop and engage end consumers, boosting their brand.
Pukuna Pitahaya with DiMuto QR and Product Page as part of DiMuto SMART Marketing Solution Consumers are able to scan the QR code to access product traceability information with DiMuto SMART MarketingEvery Pitahaya has been tagged with a DiMuto QR Code for traceability and consumer engagementPukuna was able to tell their Farm story to their end consumers through our digitalization solutionThe DiMuto platform is accessible to everyone involved in the business through web and mobile applications.Reach New Markets“We are pleased to work with DiMuto to grow the Pukuna brand in Asia and Southeast Asia. With DiMuto’s traceability solution, we are able to create trust with our export customers and also communicate our story to end consumers,” said Santiago Báez, Managing Director of Pukuna Farms.
With DiMuto-verified products and trade, Pukuna was able to access new export markets in Southeast Asia as part of DiMuto’s Global Trade Network, and conduct marketing campaigns to grow their brand.
The Singapore Food Agency ordered a recall of US peaches that were potentially linked to the ongoing Salmonella outbreak in the States and told consumers to look out for specific PLU codes. However, “not all peaches with these price look-up codes are supplied by Prima Wawona” – this could cause confusion for end consumers.
Singaporean Consumers were told to look out for the code numbers on the peaches to know if they were unsafe
For consumers, it is easier to identify exactly which brand or producer the affected produce came from, as in the picture of packaged Prima Wawona peaches shows. It is much more complex when it comes to loose packed fruit that has already been distributed out in the market.
According to the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), PLU codes, otherwise known as Price Look-Up codes, are codes that are labelled onto individual produce based upon the commodity, variety and size group. They are primarily used by supermarkets to make check-out and inventory control easier, faster and more accurate.
Thus, this means that the PLU code does not indicate which supplier or grower the produce comes from, which can make it challenging to do accurate, timely food safety recalls for loose packed fruit. This can also result in unnecessary food wastage due to the wholesale dumping of food simply because it is not possible to properly isolate the affected unsafe food.
In addition, these codes are also typically meaningless to the everyday consumers in groceries stores, which makes it difficult for them to remember what exactly which PLU codes mean on the spot, especially when the list of codes is extensive – they would likely have to search it up.
DiMuto Traceability Labels
With DiMuto traceability labels, a QR code is effectively applied onto each fruit. In the event of food safety recalls, end consumers can easily scan the QR code and be notified immediately if their fruit is safe to consume. This QR code brings consumers to a product page where the supply chain information communicated to them is verified and uploaded on the blockchain, on our DiMuto platform.
With DiMuto solutions, we are able to track down to every carton and every fruit by tagging each fruit and carton with unique digital identities or QR codes.
By tracing the fruit or produce from the supply chain upstream all the way to end consumers, we can then tackle food safety challenges in an accurate, timely and verified manner.
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If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps create traceability for fresh produce, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.
[Press Release]
DiMuto Secures Partnership with The Jupiter Group to Deploy Blockchain Traceability as Part of Global Expansion Plans
DiMuto, a tech-based trade solutions platform, has secured a deal with the Jupiter Group, a leading global fresh produce company, to deploy blockchain traceability for their produce.
The Jupiter Group is a leading global fresh produce company with headquarters in the United Kingdom offering a complete root to retail solution. The group farm and supply a variety of fresh produce including grapes, citrus, pineapple, avocado, lime, melon and kiwi.
The British born company’s rapid growth has led to it being ranked in the top 25 fastest growing companies in The Sunday Times International Track 200 in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Today it has hubs in Africa, South Africa, South America, Europe, India and the United States.
The agreement is part of Jupiter Group’s progressive global expansion plans to provide fully traceable, sustainable, quality produce to consumers around the world.
The partnership will see DiMuto tagging Jupiter Group’s core product range, totalling an estimated 10 million cartons and approximately 500 million individual pieces of fresh produce grown in 11 countries.
Singapore, 11 August 2020 – DiMuto, a trade technology solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global agri-food businesses, has secured a deal with Jupiter Group, a leading global produce grower and supplier, to deploy blockchain traceability for the group’s core range of produce.
A leader in the global fresh produce market, Jupiter Group farms and supplies new and traditional varieties of grapes and citrus alongside melons, pineapples, limes, avocados and kiwi. With a network of farms, agronomy specialists and pack house facilities spanning the globe, Jupiter has a complete root to retail solution.
Today, Jupiter Group is one of the UK’s fastest-growing businesses. The company has achieved astounding success with an average annual group growth of 51% over the past three years. The company ranked in the top 25 fastest growing companies on The Sunday Times International Track 200 (an annual league ranking Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales) in 2018, 2019 and 2020 too. Jupiter currently has hubs in Africa, South Africa, South America, Europe, India and the US.
The new partnership will see DiMuto tagging Jupiter’s core product range, where every single carton and every single fruit will be tracked on the blockchain for full supply chain visibility. An estimated total of 10 million cartons of fresh produce and approximately 500 million individual pieces of fruit will be tracked and traced on the DiMuto Platform. The company’s fruits digitized by DiMuto are grown in multiple countries including India, Greece, Colombia, Spain, South Africa, Morocco, Costa Rica and more.
The move by Jupiter to adopt blockchain traceability for their fresh produce is closely aligned with the group’s hands-on commitment to bring global consumers high quality, delicious and new fruit varieties with a truly transparent supply chain. Their mission is to be the most transparent brand in produce for growers and customers alike across the world.
DiMuto’s blockchain-powered trade traceability platform will allow visibility of every single carton and every single produce piece throughout the entire supply chain, as well as the accompanying relevant documentation and certificates to allow for greater efficiency and standardisation of Jupiter’s fresh produce supply chain.
“We are pleased to be working with DiMuto to take our traceability story further. With the DiMuto Platform, Jupiter Group will be able to champion true supply chain transparency and share each step of the produce journey with end consumers, right from seed and sapling to the shelf,” said Mark Tweddle, CEO of Jupiter Group.
“With a focus on being completely integrated in the produce supply chain, the Jupiter story fits right into the increasing consumer demand to understand the origins and practices behind their food. DiMuto’s blockchain technology will improve overall transparency throughout our fresh produce chain and better assure our consumers of our fruits’ quality and origin. We are 100% committed to our relationships throughout the whole supply chain being based on trust.” said Yvonne Tweddle, MD of Jupiter Group.
The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain by capturing important data at key supply chain stages. Individual products and cartons are tagged with DiMuto QR codes to assign each one a digital identity. These products and cartons are then digitalized through DiMuto’s proprietary Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky). All critical information at each supply chain milestone is also recorded on the DiMuto Platform to truly close the supply chain loop on one single platform, creating full supply chain visibility.
Every fruit will be tagged with DiMuto QR codes that can be easily scanned by end consumers with any smart mobile phone. Through the DiMuto Sales & Marketing Retention & Awareness Tool (SMART) Marketing solution, consumers will be directed to a product page that gives them easy access to traceability information and product origin tracked on the blockchain. Educational information like recipes and videos, as well as promotions and lucky draws can also be found. Consumers are also encouraged to leave feedback on their produce, allowing Jupiter to glean important information about the quality of the product and consumer experience. The ability to closely engage global consumers and communicate Jupiter’s blockchain-verified traceability story will further build and strengthen the Jupiter brand around the world.
“We are honoured to work with leading global fresh produce company Jupiter Group. By tracking fresh produce down to the carton and fruit level, DiMuto trade traceability solutions will help innovative leaders like Jupiter to not only increase visibility and efficiency of their supply chain but also communicate the product’s verified traceability story to end consumers with ease,” said Gary Loh, founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
To date, DiMuto has digitized over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agri-food trades. With presence in eight countries including China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, the collaboration with Jupiter Group will strengthen DiMuto’s reach in the global fresh produce industry.
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About Jupiter Group
The Jupiter Group is an award-winning collection of companies within the fresh produce industry. Ranked 17th in the prestigious The Sunday Times International Track 200, they specialise in growing, marketing and selling fresh produce across all sectors. Jupiter are industry leaders in developing new varieties of produce, proud to work with a range of leading international retailers.
Their mission is simple – to be the most transparent brand in produce for growers and consumers globally.
With a year-round supply of fresh produce, innovative new variety development and specialism in prepared fruit, they are one of the world’s leading fresh produce companies.
Whilst their speciality is growing grape, Jupiter’s expertise also covers citrus, melon, pineapples, avocados, limes and kiwi in all formats and sizes. With extensive experience of serving retail, wholesale and food service businesses across Europe and the world, the group are always open to fresh opportunities.
About DiMuto
DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce.
The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution, a 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT, creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over eight countries and five continents.
DiMuto is founded by chief executive officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.
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For media queries, please contact:
Kirsty Fleetwood
Jupiter Group
Tel: +44 07590 441777
Email: kirstyF@jupitermarketingltd.com
HuiMin Lee
DiMuto
Email: huimin@dimuto.io
Covid19 has hit the world hard, and many countries are still reeling from devastating impacts. One region that has the global consensus of being the leaders in covid19 response is Asia.
As we have seen throughout this year, China and the Asian region in general have demonstrated a greater recovery in economic terms from the current Pandemic. China has managed to keep its cases under control and has been beginning to open trade with new markets and reinforcing the existing ones with the same Asian countries. Throughout the pandemic, China has grown by 1.2 percent, although the number is relatively low, which China has been able to maintain at a positive number, has demonstrated its economic strength. For 2021, the IMF predicts China’s economy will grow by 9.2 percent, leading all major economies.
The future is in Asia
In the current coronavirus climate, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that only emerging Asia will see growth in 2020 and Asian Development Bank has stated that growth in Asia will rebound next year.
Over the past 10 years, GDP in emerging Asian economies have expanded 160% while global growth measured about 30% according to IMF. With a strong foundation of economic growth in the last few decades, Asia is on track to top 50% of global GDP by 2040 and drive 40% of the world’s consumption, representing a real shift in the world’s center of gravity.
DiMuto understands the many difficulties in conducting cross-border international agrifood trade, and the various risks involved, due to the disconnected flow of information across global supply chains where buyers and suppliers are often located in very distant geographical areas.
With DiMuto and our trusted network of buyers in the region, you can trade agrifood products and fresh produce products with peace of mind. DiMuto Global Trade Network is made up of an exclusive network of trusted buyers and suppliers conducting traceable trade on the DiMuto Platform. With full supply chain visibility, growers and retailers are able to buy & sell fresh produce more effectively and efficiently. By joining our network, you deal with traceable, trackable fresh produce that has been digitized on the DiMuto blockchain-powered platform, creating data-backed trust and peace of mind when you conduct global produce trade.
Now more than ever, the coronavirus has disrupted trade, so the need for alternative suppliers & buyers is imminent. With our Global Trade Network you can find Suppliers/Buyers in different regions of Asia, so you can expand your supply chain network of trusted trade partners.
Tackling the Messy Middle Nightmare
Doing business with Suppliers / Buyers that are far apart can eventually end in a nightmare – creating what is called the “Messy Middle” where miscommunications, misinformation and trade disputes thrive due to the lack of data and information flows in the supply chain.
The Messy Middle of agri-food supply chains
Due to this Messy Middle, there is a lack of transparency, so packers and suppliers find themselves facing heavy burden of proof when it comes to proving that they have packed produce of order-specified quality to buyers and retailers.
It’s worth pointing out that Asian countries, especially China, have become increasingly important destination markets for Latin America’s agricultural exports. Therefore, agricultural products are exposed to larger transit times, composed of unreliable cold chains and a complicated mix of on-land, maritime and air logistics. It is impossible to successfully and safely arrive in Asia without Midstream Technologies providing packaging, shelf life support, traceability and know-how to support the product during its journey to the end-consumer. It’s very likely a consumer will receive a fruit that has travelled for 30 days but that doesn’t mean they won’t expect the same quality as one that was locally harvested.
With DiMuto 4T traceability solutions, you are now able to have visibility over the provenance of the food products moved from farm to table, all stored on the blockchain on a single platform.
When buyers receive the products, with the Dimuto Receiver App, the buyer has to scan the QR code of the carton boxes and take pictures of them as proof that the shipment has been received. This allows the buyer to provide feedback of the quality of the products or report defects if it is necessary. On the other hand, the supplier has the chance to prove they have sent their products in good conditions, being able to upload all the photos at the carton level into one single platform. So it is able to track quality issues down to individual cartons.
With our Digitalization solution packers and suppliers are now able to see the quality of the product before the products are shipped off, and access the information easily according to each sales and purchase order, reducing trade disputes. Learn more about how DiMuto has helped a Peruvian supplier with their avocado trade disputes here.
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If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps create traceability for fresh produce, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.
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The Global Development Committee (GDC) is a committee aiming to foster global business connections and intelligence for current and future PMA members, and support the global growth strategy of PMA. The GDC works to identify global issues that impact the produce and floral industries and is the first line of sight to identify global opportunities for growth. It is also part of PMA’s overall mission to bring global fruit and vegetable and floral communities together in order to cultivate a healthier world.
Recently, the PMA GDC has met up in Singapore to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by producers in Southeast Asia markets, as well as in Spain, a European leader in production of fruits and vegetables, so as to provide solutions to challenges in these economies.
“A lack of visibility in the Messy Middle of global produce supply chains has contributed to problems with food safety and food waste. The pandemic has hit the industry hard, and there has been much conversation around how technology like blockchain can help to solve some of the problems faced by the value chain. I look forward to helping PMA and its members explore applicable solutions for challenges faced by the global fresh produce and floral industry, ” said Gary Loh, Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has led to widespread disruption of the fresh produce industry, driving change at a rapid pace, affecting the way the fresh produce industry works, lives, eats, moves and uses technology. Looking at how the industry can work towards becoming more resilient towards such disruptions, as well as recovery growth opportunities in the various markets will be a key focus for the incoming committee,” from Nancy Tucker, Vice President, Global Business Development of PMA.
Listen to PMA’s podcast PMA Takes on Tech, and join our CEO Gary Loh, along with Vonnie Estes, VP of Technology at PMA, Seana Day, Partner at Better Food Ventures and Kim Rui, Global Head, FreshCloud Infrastructure and Analytics at AgroFresh, as they discuss how technology can help growers, packers and shippers along the value chain, especially in The First Mile and Messy Middle.
Access the podcast here – https://bit.ly/2UEoRwg
With DiMuto SMART Marketing, Newton Orchards is able to communicate to end consumers using the DiMuto QR Labels tagged on every apple. When consumers scan the QR code, they now have the power to know the journey behind a simple apple, and learn about the origin of the apples, farming practices and history of the four-generation farm.
Newton Orchards SMART Marketing Lucky Draw Campaign
Newton Orchards is now also able to conduct direct marketing campaigns through DiMuto SMART Marketing. It has hosted a lucky draw campaign for its Western Australia market, aiming to raise awareness about its apple juices and ciders, as well as its traceability story for the fresh Pink Lady apples.
Point of Sales Marketing by Newton Orchards
The marketing campaign has garnered positive feedback from consumers on the ground with its point-of sales tasting and marketing, showing that consumers respond to traceability and QR marketing. The lucky draw mechanism also allows Newton Orchards to gain an understanding of the behaviour and profile of their end consumers, and build a relationship with them.
Point of sales tasting campaigns in Gilbert’s Fresh Market, Western Australia
To utilize DiMuto SMART Marketing, Newton Orchards deploy DiMuto traceability solutions in order to capture their supply chain information, including DiMuto QR Labels. This allows them to communicate a verifiable traceability story to end consumers and use traceability as a tool to differentiate their brand.
Newton Orchard Pink Lady Apples with DiMuto Hybrid QR Tags
Adam Buckley, Logistics Manager of Newton Orchards, with Charlie Opferkuch, Owner/Manager of Gilbert’s Fresh Market Hilton owner/manager
“We are excited to partner with DiMuto as part of our commitment to deliver sustainable and safe food to Australian consumers. By being able to track each apple from the farm to fork, we’re able to guarantee food integrity that customers can enjoy the apples in a way that’s closer to nature,” said Harvey Giblett, owner and manager of Newton Orchards.
With DiMuto-verified products and trade, Newton Orchards is now able to leverage traceability to differentiate their brand and strengthen their farm to table brand to end consumers.
If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps fresh produce growers to grow their brand with traceability, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.
Pukuna Pitahaya with DiMuto QR and Product Page as part of DiMuto SMART Marketing Solution
Every Pitahaya has been tagged with a DiMuto QR Code for traceability and consumer engagement
Pukuna was able to tell their Farm story to their end consumers through our digitalization solution
The DiMuto platform is accessible to everyone involved in the business through web and mobile applications.
Reach New Markets
“We are pleased to work with DiMuto to grow the Pukuna brand in Asia and Southeast Asia. With DiMuto’s traceability solution, we are able to create trust with our export customers and also communicate our story to end consumers,” said Santiago Báez, Managing Director of Pukuna Farms.
With DiMuto-verified products and trade, Pukuna was able to access new export markets in Southeast Asia as part of DiMuto’s Global Trade Network, and conduct marketing campaigns to grow their brand.
