Amidst rising doubts over safety and transparency in food supply chains, it is urgently necessary for the food and beverage (F&B) industry to rebuild consumer trust and confidence in food sourcing.
Recognising the potential of emerging digital technologies, Professor Faye Hao, Ms Yueming Guo, Professor Jason Zhang and Professor Kaye Chon of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) show how blockchain – known for its secure and transparent record-keeping – can serve as a powerful tool for showcasing the integrity of food supply chains.
Examining consumer responses through experimental scenarios and collaborative workshops, the researchers provide detailed insights into how blockchain implementation influences perceptions of food safety, quality and naturalness, and how these perceptions translate into customer satisfaction.
For many consumers worldwide, food safety, quality and naturalness are paramount when deciding which groceries to buy, takeaway to order or restaurant to visit. “Consumers are seeking more information about the food products they purchase”, say the authors, “such as the ingredients, the origin, the processing methods, the nutritional value and the environmental and social impact”. Indeed, informed and conscious food choices are increasingly considered a must for a healthy lifestyle.
Regrettably, however, there is a major lack of transparency and control over information within food supply chains, which can engender trust issues among consumers. Traditional tracking methods, such as barcoding, often lack transparency and reliability, making it difficult for consumers to verify the origin and safety of their food.
A solution may lie with blockchain technology – originally developed as the infrastructure for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin but having since expanded to various industries. “Blockchain’s decentralized and distributed nature creates a transparent, permanent record of transactions that is secure and resistant to tampering”, the researchers tell us. It enables restaurants to trace the journey of their ingredients all the way from farm to table and verify their authenticity and quality – thus helping to prevent food fraud and increasing diners’ trust.
Surprisingly, although more and more scholars are discussing the theoretical benefits of blockchain in the F&B industry, empirical research has yet to investigate how it can be used to improve transparency and trust in tracking food sources. The researchers resolved to fill this gap, in the hope of offering restaurant owners, technology companies and policymakers guidance on adopting blockchain to enhance customer satisfaction in the F&B industry.
The first step was to develop hypotheses. “Blockchain has the potential to enhance trust by providing a transparent and tamper-proof record of transactions and movements in the food supply chain”, the authors note. It records each transaction and movement in a chain of blocks, creating an unalterable and interconnected record. They thus hypothesised that adopting blockchain increases both trust and traceability in food supply chains – which can in turn increase perceived food safety, quality and naturalness and thus customer satisfaction.
To test these hypotheses, they conducted four rigorous studies: a service design workshop (Study 1) and three between-subjects experiments (Studies 2–4). Study 1 was a 5-hour session in which 10 participants and 4 facilitators – including “restaurant owners, technology experts, coffee shop managers, banquet servers and recent customers” – imagined and discussed the use of blockchain technology in restaurants. They considered how blockchain could help track food ingredients, share information, and improve trust and transparency in food services.
“During the service design workshop,” the authors report, “participants across all five scenarios unanimously expressed their preference for using blockchain to track ingredient supply chains”. Consistent with the hypotheses, they emphasised the technology’s trustworthiness and transparency and potential to improve perceived food quality. “Additionally,” note the researchers, “the participants believed that blockchain adoption could contribute to the perceived naturalness of food products by providing information on origin, harvest date and preservatives”.
Interestingly, however, the participants also suggested that blockchain’s performance might vary depending on restaurant type. “The relationship between blockchain adoption, traceability and trust may be stronger in casual dining restaurants than in fine dining establishments”, say the researchers, “because of their larger customer base and higher volume of food production”. Additionally, casual dining establishments are likely to benefit more from the traceability provided by blockchain, as customers already trust fine dining restaurants because of their luxury offering and perceived higher standards of safety and quality.
In Study 2, 228 consumers from the U.S. described their perceptions of food safety, quality and naturalness in two different restaurant settings: ones that used blockchain and ones that did not. The researchers found support for their hypotheses, as blockchain adoption significantly strengthened the participants’ trust and enhanced their perceptions of the food, ultimately increasing their satisfaction.
Going further, Study 3 was a survey of 453 U.S. consumers designed to determine how the type of restaurant – fine dining or casual dining – affects the relationship between blockchain technology and customers’ trust and perceptions of traceability. The results supported the hypotheses. “The impact of blockchain adoption on traceability and trust was strengthened in the casual dining scenario”, the authors report, “whereas the impact of blockchain adoption on traceability and trust was weaker in fine dining”.
Finally, Study 4 asked how restaurant location – whether in a tourist destination or residential area – might affect the observed relationships. According to 424 consumers, the impact of blockchain adoption on traceability and trust is stronger for restaurants in tourist destinations than in residential areas. “These findings align with the findings from Study 1, which indicates that tourists prefer restaurants providing traceable and trustworthy information about food safety to avoid foodborne illnesses”, the researchers explain.
Amongst the important theoretical implications of the findings is that using blockchain can signal restaurants’ commitment to food safety, quality and naturalness. “Signalling theory suggests that companies use signals to convey their commitment to certain values and goals”, note the researchers, “and the adoption of blockchain can act as a signal of a restaurant’s commitment to these values”.
This benefits both restaurants and consumers, by enhancing customers’ trust and ultimately their satisfaction with their dining experience. “The adoption of blockchain represents a significant technological advancement in the F&B industry”, say the researchers, “with the potential to revolutionise restaurant operations”.
Indeed, the authors’ findings have implications for the industry that go beyond the theoretical. First, they emphasise the importance of tracking and verifying the safety, quality and naturalness of food ingredients to increase traceability and build consumers’ trust. “These efforts can foster improved business relationships and generate increased demand for products”, the researchers point out, “as customers highly value transparency and reliability when making food choices”.
Blockchain is a promising new route to achieving this goal. It can empower customers to make more informed decisions about their food choices, leading to better health outcomes and greater confidence in the food they consume. For restaurant managers, this technology offers a strategic tool to attract and retain customers, which in turn may raise the profile of tourist destinations. It may also help government regulators enforce high food quality and safety standards, “leading to improved public health outcomes and reduced economic costs related to foodborne illnesses”.
To streamline blockchain implementation, it will be necessary to set appropriate standards, invest in infrastructure and address adoption barriers through education, partnerships and research and development.
Fei Hao, Yueming Guo, Chen Zhang and Kaye Kye Sung Chon (2024). Blockchain = Better Food? The Adoption of Blockchain Technology in Food Supply Chain. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 36, No. 10, pp. 3340–3360.
About PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management
For more than four decades, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Ranked No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality and Tourism Management” category in ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2024 for the eighth consecutive year; placed No. 1 globally in the “Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services” category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2024/2025 for eight years in a row; rated No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism” subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017; and ranked No. 2 in the world among university-based programmes in the “Hospitality and Leisure Management” subject area in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025 for the ninth consecutive year, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism.
The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 90 faculty members from 21 countries and regions around the world, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School’s groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, and inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Press contact : Ms Tiffany Chan, Marketing Manager, School of Hotel and Tourism Management
tiffany-sm.chan@polyu.edu.hk / polyu.edu.hk/shtm
