Regenerative dairy brand, Golden Hooves has launched its first Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D farm experience, which is now available to visit via any modern smartphone, tablet or computer.
‘Regeneration Farm’ will invite cheese lovers to hop over the farm gate, explore the land and go beneath the soil, to learn more about regenerative agriculture and the steps being taken by First Milk co-op members across Britain.
Part of Golden Hooves’ mission to get regenerative food and farming into every home, the AR farm will be open to all creatures great and small, accessed via QR codes on its range of award-winning cheese and crackers, as well as by visiting the Golden Hooves website.
Visitors to Regeneration Farm can enjoy activities including some time with grazing cows, who are naturally fertilising the soil with every cow pat, a closer look at trees and hedgerows, which are buzzing with plant and wildlife biodiversity, and a trip underground to see worms tunnelling to help the soil structure, as well as microbes, fungi and dung beetles hard at work making sure all that magical cow poo gets put to good use.
Leona McDonald, director of Golden Hooves, said, “We’re so excited to be throwing open the gates at Regeneration Farm – especially with our products about to land on Waitrose and Fortnum & Mason shelves through the Big Food Redesign Challenge. We would love to get every schoolchild out to visit a regenerative farm, but through AR and modern technology we can now take the farm to them. We believe that fun is the key to education, so while demonstrating what regenerative farming can do to encourage healthy soil that supports wildlife and helps lock away carbon, we’ll be getting up close with cowpats, wriggling around with worms, and putting the right kind of bugs on your computers.”
The launch coincides with the final phase of the Big Food Redesign Challenge, created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership with the Sustainable Food Trust, which will see Golden Hooves’ regeneratively farmed products made available more widely than ever before, including at Fortnum & Mason and through Abel & Cole this month. From April onwards, Golden Hooves Mature Cheddar and Salted Butter will also be stocked at selected Waitrose stores, alongside other products championed by the Big Food Redesign Challenge.
Having taken up the Big Food Redesign Challenge to work towards better food systems that regenerate nature, Golden Hooves Mature Cheddar, Vintage Cheddar, Crackers and Salted Butter have all been through the Design, Production and Retail phases of the scheme, with the Big Food Redesign looking at supply chains in rigorous detail, including the extensive, research-led regenerative programmes being implemented on First Milk farms.
To help consumers learn more about regenerative farming, the AR experience will provide a tour of the farmyard and the fields – no wellies required – guided by farmers, Emma and Steve. While digging deeper into regenerative actions through various AR experiences, visitors will hear the stories behind the Cheddars, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester that have won trophies at the British Cheese Awards, International Cheese & Dairy Awards, Artisan Cheese Awards and Global Cheese Awards this year.
Golden Hooves products are available to purchase from Waitrose, Fortnum & Mason, Abel & Cole, and independent retailers across the UK, as well as online at thecheesemarket.co.uk.