Did you know that Patagonia has a seafood and snacks company? While we reference Patagonia in class regularly, I was surprised to learn that Patagonia also owned a food company called Patagonia Provisions. This division of Patagonia was established in 2012 and primarily sells sustainable canned seafood as well as pantry items and snacks. Upon first impression, I was very confused as to why Patagonia (the apparel company) would want to expand into the food category as there is seemingly no connection.
However, Patagonia and Patagonia Provisions have very similar missions.
- Patagonia strives to transform how we consume clothing and to reduce the impact in their supply chain.
- Patagonia Provisions strives to transform how we consume food and to repair our broken food supply chain.
How is our food supply chain broken?
Modern agriculture uses toxic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and monocrops (harmful practice of growing the same crop on a piece of land every year). While these practices may maximize efficiency and profits, they are depleting the invaluable, natural layer of topsoil covering the Earth. Some even suggest that at the current rate of soil degradation, there might only be 60 years left of harvest before the soil is no longer able to grow food. Our guest speaker in class, Mike Rowlands, also discussed how organic farming practices can prevent the depletion of topsoil.
What is Patagonia Provisions doing about it?
Patagonia Provisions’ products are sourced only from farmers, fishers, and suppliers that use regenerative practices. In class, we learned that while some businesses are moving towards net zero, ideally we want to be regenerative – meaning giving back more to the planet than we take. Instead of depleting the planet’s resources, Patagonia’s suppliers restore resources. For example, their seafood is selectively sourced from fisheries that only harvest fish from abundant populations and use fishing practices that reduce bycatch.
It’s great to see large companies like Patagonia enter a new product category and apply their sustainable values to a different industry. While I would love to try Patagonia Provisions’ products, they are currently only available online in the US and only in select stores in California. I believe we need more regenerative companies like Patagonia Provisions in the food category to give more consumers a better choice. Have you tried Patagonia Provisions? Feel free to leave a comment!
ShreekavyaMittal
April 10, 2023 — 2:40 pm
Hi Cherry,
I was shocked to learn about Patagonia selling seafood – I have never heard about it! But your comparison of the mission of both product lines makes sense. The fishing industry is not sustainable at all with the problem of overproduction, destruction of mangroves for domesticated fisheries, and expansion of marine diseases in the domesticated fishes among many others. Even though Patagonia has always been able to communicate its love for the environment with its brand, it is mostly associated with clothing. It would be interesting to see how consumers associate food with Patagonia!
Julie
April 15, 2023 — 12:01 am
I had no idea that Patagonia sold seafood – I’d be interested to try them as well as hear about the brand perceptions from its consumers. We learned in class that some parent companies strategically opt to distance themselves from their subsidiaries if their brand personality doesn’t align with it (e.g., a CPG company distancing itself from a sustainable cereal brand) to not impact its success or dilute its brand association. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Patagonia – rather that the thought of responsible food doesn’t necessarily bring “clothing” to the top of mind. Moreover, I loved that you connected this to Mike Rowlands’s comments on responsible farming; the vitality of our ecosystems is dependent on accountability within sourcing processes. Thanks for sharing, Cherry! It would be great to see more companies follow suit and offer consumers more sustainable and regenerative options.