Else Verstraete, CPO Let’s lead real change

Our purpose and values

Building on the existing values and mission of our group, we announced our new global purpose in March 2023: “Day by day, we make sustainable food consumption second nature by increasing the appetite for delicious, convenient food with care for both people and planet.” Let’s take a moment to reflect on that purpose and on the values that empower every one of us to lead real change..

An introspective journey

As we welcomed new leadership in the course of 2021 and 2022, we reflected on who we want to be, why we exist and where we are headed as we continue to build on our 75-year heritage. As a first step in this journey, we defined the role we want to play and where we want to go, as people increasingly expect more from the companies, products, and brands they love.

Our new purpose represents what our organisation and our colleagues can achieve when we dream big, together. It allows us to unlock, leverage and refocus our existing infrastructure and assets to create more innovation, more sustainability, more opportunities, and more value for all – in everything we do.

The future is bright … and inclusive

We want to help everyone find their way to our delicious products, by making sustainable food consumption second nature. We’re committed to building a future that everyone can celebrate and share. We believe we can make a meaningful impact in our value chain, for all our customers, consumers, and local communities, as well as for our most important stakeholders: our colleagues.

We aim to create a brighter future by promoting sustainability in all its dimensions and by taking category leadership and innovation to the next level to meet customer and consumer needs. We want to drive growth by reaching more consumers with our best-in-class product range and by using data and technology to connect with all stakeholders. Thus, we hope to make a positive and lasting impact.

Empowering, new values

Together with our new purpose, we formulated new values to empower each and every one of our colleagues to lead real change. This is one of the ways in which we want to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and rewarding future for our company.

1. Crafting with care, care by crafting

The main ingredient of everything we create? The love and care we put into our work. We never stop perfecting our products (if we can resist eating them). Quality is always on our hungry minds, as is the well-being and safety of our colleagues and consumers. Through our craftsmanship we also contribute to the world. We set new standards for taste and convenience, for sustainability and animal welfare. That’s how we live up to our responsibility towards the planet and our dear fellow people on it.

2. Confident and courageous

We know we are pretty good at what we do. We don’t feel shy about that, we are openly ambitious and self-assured. At the same time, we realise how we became so confident about our skills: it’s the people we work with. We create a work environment where everybody – accountants, cover your ears – can be creative, courageous and confident about trying new things. Honest mistakes are a part of that. But from our experience: if you give someone the right to fail, they usually don’t.

3. Day by day, side by side

Big changes don’t happen overnight. That’s why we work towards our goals one day at a time. Dreaming big, being wide awake. Rolling up our sleeves, side by side. As one team, beyond country borders or business units, we engage in a mutual partnership with colleagues, suppliers, clients, customers and everyone involved. As equals, respecting each other’s uniqueness, most quirks included.

Proud of our heritage and our shared purpose

Let’s be proud of our culture, building on a rich heritage and creating an inclusive and engaging organisation for all. We aim to give each employee a safe working environment, relying on constructive dialogue as well as encouraging talent development throughout careers. That’s how we enable our people to make an impact on the sustainable growth of our company and on our shared purpose.

Else Verstraete Chief People Officer

Chief

Peter Bal, CIO