It’s in our bread, our cereal and our pasta. It covers more of the earth than any other crop. And when we think of the idyllic, traditional farm, we imagine fields upon fields of it, swaying in the breeze. The EU produces 156m metric tonnes of wheat per year, with France growing over one quarter of that. It makes sense, therefore, that Mondelēz International’s sustainable wheat program, Harmony, has its foundation in France. Originally conceived by Danone, Mondelēz adopted the program in 2008 and it’s now one of their flagship sustainability programs, along with Cocoa Life.
The pastoral image of pale yellow wheat dancing in the wind is cliché but the idea of local farmers supplying sustenance for their communities is not. Sourcing from farmers and using millers who are as close as possible to Mondelēz’s factories, is a key part of Harmony.
There are 49 conditions of the Harmony charter which farmers must honour, all based around sustainable methods of agriculture. They fall under four broad principles: partnerships (where geographical proximity comes into play), practises (such as choosing more resistant wheat varieties, soil management, limiting use of pesticides, and water stewardship), biodiversity and traceability.
Speaking recently at Sustainable Brands London, Albert Mathieu, president biscuits category for Mondelēz Europe, spoke about the value of localism. “Every year we organise visits between our community of farmers and those factories nearby and recently, a farmer who was visiting the line picked up a freshly baked biscuit and asked, ‘have you tasted my wheat?’” Another farmer, Elisabeth Bouchet, who has a farm near Poitiers, proudly placed two boxes of Petit LU biscuits on her fireplace when the product launched, to show guests where her home-grown wheat had ended up. In an industry with increasingly complex supply chains, being able to go into a supermarket and know that ingredients in recognisable brands have been sourced from a farm in your region, is reassuring.
What’s in a logo?
We see logos aplenty on products these days, from organic to non-GMO to gluten free. What does the Harmony logo mean? At least 70% of the wheat contained in a product with the logo has been produced according to the program stipulations, but the goal is 100%. The difference accounts for potential changes in climate which can affect crops. Mathieu has been running the program for the last two and a half years and states that during this time, the figure has remained at 100%.
Picking up a pack of biscuits with the Harmony logo also means the wheat was grown by a farmer committed to dedicating at least 3% of their fields to strengthening biodiversity. “Farmers have to plant a number of hectares of specific flowers, the ones that are the most suitable to attract bees and pollinators, around their fields,” said Mathieu. Working with the French National Museum of Natural History and NGO, Noé Conservation to track populations of key species, biodiversity improvements are key KPIs for the company.
The road to Harmony
Certified farmers receive a premium for their wheat which Mathieu says is “significant”. He stresses that it’s a commitment, and by no means a quick way of receiving a higher price for the product. From the time a farmer joins the program to his or her first Harmony crop, it is about a two year period. “You need to accept that you’ll be audited. There are positive constraints that not everybody is willing to take.” Ultimately, these positive constraints mean the farmer gets a higher price, and there is consistency in the final product. “One of the issues in our industry, across brands is that depending on the wheat you’re using, or the factory where you’re baking, you can have big variations in the final products, and the name of the game when you have brands is to ensure the experience of consumers is similar,” he continued.
With 75% of their biscuits in western Europe now made with Harmony wheat, and having rapidly grown since 2008, the program now spans France, Belgium, Italy and Spain as well as Poland and the Czech Republic. “We are good at scaling up things,” said Mathieu. “We have a global footprint. So when we decide to do something we can do it big.”
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