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We’ve written about product life stories before—identifiers that link a commodity to its origin. The two examples we previously featured were for organic bananas and fair-trade coffee. Which makes sense, since consumers who pay a premium for organic or fair-trade products are often more interested in background information about the products they consume. Which is why we were pleased to spot Iglo’s Woher kommt Ihr Spinat program. Iglo, a European market leader in the frozen foods segment, recently added tracking codes to their packages of ordinary, non-premium spinach. Consumers can type in the code on Iglo’s website and see exactly which farm their creamed spinach came from. Details displayed online include a family photo and a blurb about the farmer (Claus Bernsmann, for example, is 39 years old, has three children and has been farming for Iglo since 1990). Which provides consumers with a story they’re likely to share with family and friends. Since Iglo and other F&B brands already keep track of this type of data, it’s a fairly easy way to add a sense of transparency and authenticity to mainstream products. The brands only need to give consumers access to part of an existing database, and display the resulting information in an appealing way. For many more examples of how smart brands are tapping into consumers’ increasing demand for transparency and authenticity, check out trendwatching.com’s current briefing about the shift from brands telling a story, to brands helping consumers share status stories. Spotted by: RK