The new sustainability playbook starts with suppliers

As sustainability shifts from a marketing claim to a business strategy, ingredient suppliers are becoming the industry’s sustainability experts, investing in traceability, regenerative agriculture and climate-smart infrastructure that can connect farms directly to finished food products.

Ingredient suppliers have traditionally operated behind the scenes. Across industries, from food and apparel to automotive manufacturing, suppliers provide the technical expertise that powers finished products while brands take center stage. In food, ingredient manufacturers have long served as experts in sourcing, formulation, processing and functionality. But as sustainability moves from a marketing claim to a business strategy, their role is becoming increasingly visible.

The shift mirrors changes seen in other industries. In fragrance, perfumers who once remained largely anonymous are now recognized for the scents they create, giving consumers greater insight into both the artistry and science behind a finished product. Food follows a similar trajectory, though the emphasis is less on creativity and more on transparency.

Suppliers become sustainability experts

Consumers’ relationship with food is deeply personal, and provenance is part of that relationship, especially as information about sourcing and production is more accessible than ever. As shoppers seek greater visibility into where ingredients come from and how they are produced, brands are looking deeper into their own supply chains. More often than not, that search leads back to the ingredient supplier.

Not every product will be able to incorporate fully traceable, regeneratively grown ingredients, particularly as supply remains limited and costs vary by category. But suppliers are increasingly helping brands identify other pathways to sustainability, whether through lower-carbon crops, improved processing methods, ingredient traceability or investments in supply-chain infrastructure. So, sustainability is becoming less about a single farming practice and more about building systems that can connect environmental goals with commercial realities.

Beyond Meat, for example, shared its reformulation strategy for Beyond IV products in 2024, with an emphasis on traceable ingredients, like fava bean. The company’s move is part of a broader industry shift towards provenance as a product value.

Suppliers increasingly serve as both technical experts and proof points for sustainability claims because of their direct relationship with farms, explains Nicole Atchison, CEO of pea protein supplier Puris.

Atchison said suppliers occupy the “messy middle” between farms and consumer brands, making investments in traceability systems and identity-preserved processing critical for ensuring sustainability claims can be verified.

“Our ability to store and segregate product directly ties to what we’re saying about traceability of connecting farm to food, because the messy middle in between is where that gets really difficult,” she said.

Climate-smart starts with crop choice

While reducing high-emission systems is a critical lever for companies to reduce their agricultural footprint, it’s only part of the equation.

Atchison highlights the long-term environmental and economic value of scaling crops that already have inherently lower footprints.

“There’s a lot of conversations about how we can improve agriculture and reduce the carbon of food. But our thesis has always been, well, what if we just start with crops that are good for the climate instead of working to improve something that’s got the high emissions factor by 10%? What if we start with something that’s already 90% lower?” she said.

She pointed to peas as an example. Beyond their role as a protein source, peas function as cover and rotational crops that support soil health while requiring fewer inputs than many conventional commodity crops, she explained.

“They are one of the lowest carbon footprint crops that’s grown in America,” she emphasized.

The regenerative agriculture investment is also coming from federal pathways. In June, President Trump signed the Advancing Regenerative Agriculture And Strengthening American Farm Resilience Executive Order to develop more public-private partnerships around regenerative agriculture research and innovation, as well as creating additional opportunities that already fit within regenerative systems.

Processing matters, too

While a regenerative-derived ingredient contributes to its health halo and a potentially cleaner label around that raw material, extracting protein out of a plant peas requires processing of some kind.

“Yes, it’s a processed ingredient. Most proteins, if it’s not whole food, most are. But when we compare it to other isolates, it’s a much cleaner process,” Atchison said.

Given the ubiquity of processing in modern food production, Atchison said the more important question is not whether an ingredient is processed, but how it is processed.

Pea protein suppliers like Puris, Ingredion, Roquette and Cosucra rely on a water-based extraction process rather than solvent-based methods commonly used elsewhere in the protein industry.

“It’s a water-based process compared to soy and some other oilseed proteins, which use chemical solvents to remove the oil,” Atchison said.

Traceability becomes the new differentiator

Historically, brands concealed suppliers. Today, some are highlighting them as provenance becomes a competitive advantage in packaged food, similar to the way farm-to-table became one in foodservice.

“The differentiation in products isn’t always keeping your supplier secret. It’s all of the pieces coming together, building trust with your consumers, having a robust and reliable supply chain,” Atchison said.

She added: “Building that trust is worth the risk of showing who my supplier is.”

The cost question

Yet sustainability still carries a reputation for being expensive, largely because food supply chains were historically built for efficiency and scale rather than traceability and environmental outcomes. At the same time, the metrics used to define what makes an ingredient, process or product “climate-smart” continue to evolve, creating new challenges for brands and suppliers alike.

Peas are “inherently sustainably” which allows companies like Puris to build a climate smart strategy earlier in their business development, Atchison said.

Other ingredient companies develop their own sourcing programs as measures to reduce the cost barriers historically associated with sustainable ingredients. Pulse and legume supplier Avena’s RegenAg Protocol applies its regenerative framework for its oats, peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans. Anchor Ingredients’ AnchorRegen program provides traceable and identity-preserved ingredients sold at a premium, according to the company.

“At the beginning, probably because everything that needs to scale is hard to scale, but as these ingredients get to critical mass, they have the opportunity to be competitive and lower cost,” Atchison said.

The question may no longer be whether sustainability costs more, but whether the industry can afford not to invest in the infrastructure needed to support it. As more companies build traceable supply chains and create markets for regeneratively grown ingredients, sustainability could evolve from a premium feature into a competitive priority.

“Our job is to make these ingredients amazing. Because if the demand grows, people will grow more peas, and if more peas need to be grown, we’ll innovate how to grow more peas better. And all of that creates a flywheel.”