Today, KIND Snacks launches the KIND Almond
Acres Initiative — a three-year pilot project in regenerative
agriculture.
Building off of the snack brand’s announcement last year of progress made on its
prior
commitment
to source 100 percent of its almonds from bee-friendly farms by 2025, the KIND
Almond Acres Initiative will expand its commitment to sustainable almond
sourcing and provide key insights to help inform how it can source 100 percent
of its almonds from orchards practicing regenerative agriculture on a
mass-balance basis by 2030. These two commitments work hand in hand to better
all aspects of almond farming — from the soil to the bees; and of course,
almonds.
Almonds are KIND’s number-one ingredient — the lead ingredient in over 45 of its
products. The company purchases millions of pounds of almonds each year, which
is why it decided to test and learn how to grow almonds more sustainably.
KIND Almond Acres Initiative will introduce a mix of new technologies with best
practices from regenerative ag across 500 acres in California — where 80
percent of the world’s almonds are grown. Implementing the practices on the
ground is KIND’s partner, olam food ingredients
(ofi) — which owns the almond trees on the project acres. Throughout this
pilot, KIND hopes to gather the data and learnings needed to find the best
combination of practices that will provide measurable benefits to the soil, the
farm as a whole and the planet. The learnings from this pilot will help set
environmental targets and help inform how KIND will reach its goal by 2030.
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Strategically chosen by ofi and KIND, the practices on the ground include:
-
Cover crops: Using a blend of five cover
crops
to test how introducing this practice can build soil structure, increase
soil carbon levels, create pollinator habitats, and help the land become
more resilient in the face of a changing climate.
-
Subsurface irrigation: The California almond community has committed to
reducing the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by an
additional 20 percent by 2025. To understand the best way to achieve this,
KIND is investigating technology such as subsurface irrigation. This is an
irrigation system that should allow growers to ensure more of the water
applied is used directly by the tree.
-
Whole orchard recycling: Dedicating 38 acres to testing whole orchard
recycling’s effect on soil health.
-
Compost and biochar: Testing if adding compost and biochar can increase
the amount of carbon stored in the soil, decrease the need for excess
fertilizer and improve soil water retention.
-
Off-ground harvesting: Collecting the almonds off of trees instead of
from the ground decreases soil disturbance and reduces the amount of dust in
the air during harvest, which could improve air quality and carbon
sequestration.
“ofi’s partnership with KIND represents a massive joint effort in regenerative
agriculture. We are learning how to pair innovative sustainable technology with
traditional farming practices, so we can find a combination that creates a
positive change for the planet,” said Zac
Ellis, Senior Director of
Agronomy at ofi. “Efforts like these leverage our global expertise to build a
more sustainable way of farming almonds.”
Continuing its investment throughout its supply chain, KIND has become a member
of the California Water Action Collaborative (CWAC) — a network of leading
environmental organizations, food/ag and beverage companies, and retail and tech
companies that work together to pursue collective action projects that will
improve California’s water security for people, business, agriculture and
nature.
“KIND uses millions of pounds of almonds a year, so joining CWAC is a huge first
step in collaborating with the broader industry while helping to build water
resilience in California,” said Caitlin
Birkholz, Regenerative
Agriculture Pillar Lead at KIND, “and we cannot think of a better time to join
than the launch of the KIND Almond Acres Initiative.”
In tandem with the KIND Almond Acres Initiative, the brand is investing in the
next generation of sustainable change agents by working with UC
Merced — an HSI (Hispanic-serving Institution) and
one of the most sustainable
universities
in the country — to award the first-ever “KIND to the planet” scholarship.
“This will tremendously help our students, many of which are first-generation
students, and continue to give back to our planet by investing in the future
generation that’s going to change the world,” said Monica
Sozinho, Director of Corporate
Relations at UC Merced. “It means a lot to our students to see a brand like KIND
invest in our local community and for an initiative that they care deeply about
— helping the planet.”
To celebrate the KIND Almond Acres Initiative with consumers, KIND is inviting
them to join its regenerative-ag journey through several immersive experiences
across multiple digital platforms:
-
KIND is partnering with Snapchat to create the platform’s first-ever
lens dedicated
to regenerative agriculture in almonds. This experience will take Snapchat
users on a virtual “visit” to the KIND Almond Acres Initiative, where they
can learn more about regenerative ag and the new growing techniques being
tested on the acres.
-
KIND is also debuting an interactive Almond Acres landing
page that will showcase the progress and
results of the KIND Almond Acres Initiative, as well as the ongoing
sustainability partnerships with CWAC and UC Davis — KIND’s long-term
sustainability & research partner — helping to understand how pollinator
health and regenerative ag can help future-proof the almond industry.
“We know that regenerative agriculture can be challenging to understand. We know
our consumers want to engage in learning how to be kinder to our planet, and
that is why we’re welcoming everyone into the living, learning lab that is the
KIND Almond Acres Initiative,” said Kelly
Solomon, Chief Marketing
Officer at KIND. “We believe it is our responsibility to lead the almond
industry towards a kinder way to grow almonds, and we are so proud and excited
to be the brand paving the way.”
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Apr 18, 2023 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST