Customers of K Group are increasingly interested in the origin of products. K Group is responding to this demand by providing information on the origin and routes of popular products on the Tracing our Products website – canned pineapple being the most recent addition.
Most of the Pirkka and K-Menu pineapple cans also have a QR code that allows customers to check the information already at the store. QR codes will be added to all cans as their packaging is renewed.
“Trading sector companies are now expected to provide even more transparent information on where their products come from, how working conditions at factories and farms are monitored and how the environmental impacts of products are minimised. At K Group, we work hard to ensure the sustainability of products and we also want to tell our customers about all the things we expect from our suppliers,” says Tuuli Luoma, Director, Sales and Own Brands in Kesko’s grocery trade division.
Pirkka and K-Menu canned pineapples come from Thailand
Thailand is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of pineapples. Smallholders, who generally cultivate an area of between 1 and 5 hectares of land, account for more than 95 per cent of all pineapple producers.
There are certain issues that may be related to pineapple production due to the seasonal nature of the work and the use of fertilisers and pesticides, for example. To avoid these risks, K Group requires its suppliers to meet a large number of criteria regarding social and environmental responsibility and it favours long-term partnerships.
“We have been working with the supplier of Pirkka and K-Menu canned pineapple for more than 20 years. The pineapples come from four different plantations in Thailand. At the plantations, biodiversity loss is prevented by cultivating other crops between the pineapple growing seasons and by using organic alternatives to fertilisers and pesticides. At the pineapple canning factory, amfori BSCI social responsibility audits are regularly carried out to assess the safety of working conditions in production, the salaries and working hours of employees and their rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining”, Luoma says.
Pirkka and K-Menu canned pineapples travel to Finland by ship from Thailand via Germany. It takes about six weeks in total for the canned pineapples to arrive in Finland.
K Group also provides information on the origin of t-shirts, canned tuna, roses, bananas and timber
More comprehensive information about the origin and journey of Pirkka and K-Menu canned pineapples to Finland can be found on the Tracing our Products website. On the site, K Group also provides information on the origin of mywear t-shirts, Pirkka and K-Menu canned tuna, Pirkka Fairtrade roses and bananas and PROF Timber products, and their journey to K-stores.
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