Right Origins: fair prices for the farmer, transparency for the consumer

Brightlands Innovation Factory launched a unique and customized incubation program for innovative blockchain startups in 2017. India-based Akash Mathew and Sudeesh Narayanan joined the program and found the way to realize their dream: Right Origins, a foundation that enables fair ownership for farmers and transparency for consumers. The first product, the Right Origins chocolate bar, is now on sale.

Collaboration and trust

At the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen, Akash and Sudeesh had the opportunity to find the right collaborations for Right Origins. Akash: "We received an incredible amount of support. Through the campus, we quickly found someone who was willing to vouch for our stay in the Netherlands. It's heartwarming that a stranger believes in you and trusts you. Brightlands Innovation Factory also believed in us. We were given a start-up loan and space and facilities on the campus. Via Brightlands we later came into contact with LIOF and Rabobank's Business Innovation Team Limburg. That and the incubation program of Brightlands Innovation Factory ensured that we could get off to a flying start."

From blockchain to transparency

Akash and Sudeesh are the founders of CIED, a company focused on developing solutions through blockchain and artificial intelligence. From this expertise, they developed Right Origins, a foundation that offers an alternative to prevailing production chains. Fair and fully transparent products are at its core, created in partnership with international farmer cooperatives.

By using blockchain, the consumer can look into the creation of what he buys. For the first product, the chocolate bars, this means that the buyer can scan the QR code on the wrapper. This makes Right Origins 100% transparent.

Fair Prices

It's not just transparency for the consumer that counts. Right Origins is also there for the farmer, helping cooperatives build their brand, scale up and generate better incomes. "We guarantee farmers an income that is up to five times higher than fair trade programs," says Akash. This is possible by making the chain as short as possible.

The Future

The beginning was made with chocolate bars, but it doesn't stop there. Sudeesh: "Right Origins is a platform that anyone who wants to produce and trade in a fair, transparent way can use. We want to become a marketplace for trustworthy products."

Currently, the foundation is collaborating on a pilot of Verstegen spices. Akash: "We are using blockchain technology to account for the supply chain of the nutmeg they get from Indonesia. They can now rightly claim the origin and sustainability of their nutmeg. It is also interesting for other producers to distinguish themselves in this way. The market for fair products is growing. With our technology, you can prove that you're not just selling talk."

More about blockchain? Also read the background article on this topic on Kiempunt. The certified organic chocolate bars can be purchased through Right Origins' webshop.

Source: Brightlands and Right Origins