Dive Brief:
- Bud Light brewer Anheuser-Busch will begin rolling out beer bottles and cans emblazoned with "U.S. Farmed" product seals, becoming the first to adopt a voluntary label designed for the consumer packaged goods industry.
- The beer giant said Tuesday that it has obtained the American Farmland Trust's new U.S. Farmed certification and will begin using the seal on some of its biggest brands. The certification highlights products where at least 95% of agricultural ingredients are from domestic farms.
- The seal will first appear on Busch Light beer this May, and the company has also obtained the certification for Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra. The AFT looks to expand use of the label within the CPG industry, noting that funds raised through certification will go toward services protecting U.S. farmland.
Dive Insight:
The AFT's label provides CPGs with a new value-add for their food products as consumers become more aware of the social and environmental impacts of their purchases. At the same time, the certification is set to help U.S. farmers by funding efforts to keep their operations running.
"With the launch of the U.S. Farmed certification, we’re taking a bold step to help secure the future of American agriculture and create both a movement and a market niche that celebrates and supports our nation’s farmers,” Acting AFT President Beth Sauerhaft said in a statement.
AFT plans to use the funds raised to provide growers with direct support to maintain farmland or to transition operations to the next generation of farmers. By being a "first mover" in adopting the label, Anheuser-Busch hopes to spur additional CPGs into undergoing the certification process for the seal.
"The U.S. Farmed certification takes our commitment to the next level, and we are proud to lead the industry in rallying behind American farmers to ensure the future of U.S. agriculture, which is crucial to our country’s economy," Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement.
Anheuser-Busch is additionally planning to roll out a "Choose Beer Grown Here" marketing campaign along with an effort to encourage consumers to seek out the label. The marketing push, which speaks to issues in America's farming heartland, comes as the beer giant tries to recover from conservative-led backlash over an advertising partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
