First Food & Beverage Public Blockchain Ecosystem Boosts France-China Trade

President Xi Jinping of China and President Emmanuel Macron of France were among the first to sample premium products delivered and verified using the first French-Chinese Public B2B Blockchain Ecosystem for food & beverage products.

Delegates at the 2019 China International Import Expo in Shanghai last week saw how premium products, including Label Rouge Limousin beef and Boisset wine from Burgundy, were delivered with an innovative B2B food & beverage blockchain solution.

Those premium products were also on the menu at Shanghai's acclaimed Restaurant Blanche on November 9th as it provided an historic setting for the private gourmet dinner held following the signing of the memorandum of understanding by partners DNV GL, VeChain and ASI Group.

This B2B Blockchain Ecosystem for food & beverage products will allow Chinese buyers and consumers faster access to French premium products with assurance of product authenticity, quality and safety. It has been jointly developed by the three partners DNV GL, VeChain and ASI Group.

This innovative solution combines their three specific expertises and responds to Chinese demands for food safety and quality, as well as transparent trade with traceability of products and supply chains.

Via this new blockchain ecosystem French producers can highlight the value of their products. Consequently, they can develop a direct and efficient access to the Chinese market which allows them to share product information in a reliable and safe way. We are creating a direct and trusted bridge between the French local actors and the Chinese market and consumers thanks to this unique French-Chinese food and beverage blockchain ecosystem and verification provided by an independent third party, says Mathieu Borgé, Co-founder of Foodgates, ASI Group.

ASI Group provides qualitative end-to-end logistic, supply chain, import and global trade solutions which require strict adherence to local regulations, to cold chain transportation to ensure safe delivery from farm to consumers. While the public blockchain ecosystem powered by VeChain allows for the verification of producers’ products and supply chain processes by DNV GL with digital means and takes the technology to the next level in terms of providing trust.

“In the demo version, we verify the authenticity of key producer and product journey information. We also physically verify the products’ arrival, so consumers can trust its authenticity,” says Sven Edgren, Head of Digital Transformation, DNV GL – Business Assurance.

He added: “For the scaled blockchain ecosystem on Foodgates platform, we will provide our expertise to ensure that rules are defined for all producers and their products, ensuring a transparent and consistent verification scheme in the supply chain. Leveraging on our food safety and supply chain process know-how, we embed trust into product certificates, product information and provenance. This could even include assuring the authenticity of claims, if producers decide to opt for the My Story™ solution offered by DNV GL. As information is securely logged in the blockchain, every product’s journey can instantly be communicated to consumers in a transparent way.”

It is the VeChain Thor blockchain-powered technology by VeChain that ensures that information collected cannot be tampered with and is publicly available for anyone to see and check. The QR Code and NFC identification system makes it easy for everyone to retrieve the secure and protected information attached to each product.

Based on this technology, ASI Group-incubated B2B digital platform Foodgates, which aims to go live early 2020. This unique sourcing and trading platform which will directly link French Producers and Chinese buyers, faster and safer, is the first to be built on a public blockchain ecosystem, thanks to its technological partnership with DNV GL and VeChain.

It will then be open to more French producers and gradually to other countries – providing a digital sourcing and trading platform to easily and directly offer products to Chinese buyers as well as providing Chinese consumers with better access to validated, authentic and safe import products.

About the partners:

DNV GL is a leading provider of risk management and quality assurance services and a global leader in certifying companies’ management systems and products across many industries, including food & beverage. Since 1864, its purpose has been to safeguard life, property and the environment. DNV GL helps companies manage their most critical risks and demonstrate compliance with regulations and standards. DNV GL offers integrated, digital solutions to allow trade partners to efficiently achieve high supply chain integrity.

ASI Group is specialized in Logistics, Global Trade, Supply Chain and Import solutions. The company support businesses at every step of their growth and Supply Chain international development. With a set of different companies in Logistics and Freight Forwarding, Global Trade and Supply, has been business facilitators between Europe in China, acquiring a strong expertise and network in both the European and Asian continents over the years, working with big retailers such as Auchan, Carrefour, etc.

VeChain, launched in 2015, aims to connect Blockchain technology to the real world by providing a comprehensive governance structure, a robust economic model, and IoT integration. VeChain is the pioneer of real-world applications using public Blockchain technology, with international operations in Singapore, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Together with our strategic partners PwC and DNV GL, we have established cooperative relations with many leading enterprises in different industries, including Walmart China, BMW, BYD Auto, Haier, Bright Food, D.I.G, DB Schenker, PICC, etc.