Giving consumers a window into our barley's journey

The barley used to make our Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde beer is changing.

We are engaging consumers to improve understanding of more resilient agricultural practices to enable them to make more informed and environmentally conscious choices – starting with our Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde beer in France, where we launched the first traceable Responsible Barley chain in 2022.

Thanks to a QR code on the packaging, and a new blockchain solution, consumers can access information about the barley’s journey from field to bottle, and keep a close eye on our commitments and progress in sourcing Responsible Barley for Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde.

The partnership with Malteries Soufflet and grain buyer Soufflet Agriculture recently reached a major milestone with the signing of a multi-year contract covering the 2026 and 2027 harvests. This ensures that 1664 Blonde in France will be brewed with 100% traceable barley malt from an exclusive, segregated and innovative supply chain, combining regenerative agricultural practices, blockchain-enabled traceability and strong commitments to the environment, farmers and consumers.

From 2026, 1664 Blonde will become the first beer in France to guarantee a 100% supply of malt sourced from the traceable Responsible Barley sector, with a trajectory geared towards regenerative agriculture. This ambitious choice has a significant impact as it concerns 10% of the French beer market – one in ten beers consumed – and marks a major step forward in transforming the sector.

The momentum is already strong: in just three years, the number of committed farmers has grown from 45 in 2022 to 216 today, cultivating more than 5,800 hectares under demanding specifications built on four pillars: soil protected by plant cover, low-carbon fertilisation, crop diversification and active preservation of biodiversity.

More than 370,000 users have already scanned the QR code to learn about the various stages of the brewing process and the dates when their beer was brewed and bottled.