ADM expands regenerative reach with new consumer ingredient brand

Dive Brief:

• ADM launched Knwble Grwn, a new brand of direct-to-consumer ingredients including flaxseed, flax oil, hemp seed, hemp oil and quinoa. They are available to purchase on Amazon.
• The brand sources from farmers who implement regenerative agriculture practices in their supply chains, and targets consumers concerned about the environment, said Jamie Goehner, ADM’s commercial manager.
• The launch allows ADM to expand its consumer products portfolio while moving closer to its goal of lowering its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2035.

Dive Insight:

In December, ADM said its regenerative agriculture programs covered over 600,000 acres, and the company’s 2023 aims is to reach one million acres by enrolling over 1,000 growers. The new ingredients line helps get closer to this goal.

Knwble Grwn, which creates plant-based ingredients, is focused on sourcing from farmers committed to reducing carbon output in their agricultural operations, Goehner said. One of the flax farmers highlighted by ADM, Paul Overby of North Dakota, aims to reduce soil erosion by not tilling the crops.

“Paul is rotating five or six crops a year, using minimal or no-till, and has been for 15 years,” Goehner said.

ADM’s five regenerative properties include: minimizing soil disturbance, improving soil structure, continuously covering bare soil, maximizing biodiversity and responsibly managing inputs like pesticides. The Knwble Grwn brand comes from farmers that use at least three of them.

Since regenerative agriculture is such a broad term with differing definitions from companies, Goehner said, Knwble Grwn is still working to ensure maximum transparency and best practices for the different farmers it sources from, based on varied soil and climate needs.

“How we ensure we bring the mission to life through the supply chain, and giving back to the farmers and the community, is something we’re continuing to work and refine,” Goehner said.

Another key aspect of Knwble Grwn is the diversity of its operations, ADM said in the press release. The brand’s corporate team is run by women and is a minority-led team. The overall ethos of Knwble Grwn is to highlight underrepresented groups, ADM said in the release, and the brand sources from veterans, Native American farmers and those with smaller operations, it said.

“We’re continuing to build relationships with underrepresented small farmers and incentivizing them while they’re early adopters of regenerative practices,” Goehner said.

The ingredients company is prioritizing regenerative agriculture practices with some of its biggest launches. Last September, ADM announced a partnership with food CPG giant PepsiCo focused on funding regenerative agriculture projects — involving corn, soy and wheat farmers in the Midwest — aiming to reach 2 million acres of farmland by 2030.