You were appointed Ferrero Gulf’s regional managing director in the midst of a global pandemic. From a business front, how did you navigate embarking on a new adventure combined with the health crisis?
In terms of new beginnings, luckily, prior to this position I enjoyed a five-year tenure as strategic planner, covering Europe at first followed by the addition of APAC MEA. So I was quite familiar with the region. Still, being here on the ground full-time has obviously provided me with a much more in-depth perspective – I can now see first-hand how fast-evolving and complex this market really is.
With regards to the pandemic, like most companies our number-one priority has been the safety and health of our employees during this terrible crisis.
From a business front, ensuring not only business continuity but also business success in these times has been challenging.
Fortunately, agility, resilience and resourcefulness have always been part of Ferrero’s DNA.
Ultimately, we successfully navigated the year by retained our winning formula: follow the lead of consumers – whom have always been at the heart of everything we do.
Of course, the positive results of the past year are also a testament to the strength of our roster of products.
How are you making sure that this business success prevails in the region?
In recent years, we have laid the groundwork for business success in the Gulf. We have been unwavering in our commitment to delivering high-quality products and have forged important strategic partnerships – in the form of joint ventures – in key markets such as the UAE and Kuwait. We have achieved year-on-year growth and continued to gain more market share across brands and products.
These are the fundamental forces that will continue to steer our business moving forward.
But as the habits of our first key stakeholder – our consumer – continue to shift, we are keeping flexibility and agility at the very forefront of our strategy for the future.
After all, if this past year taught us anything, it’s that you can’t predict the future. You can just prepare for it.
You’re also doing well globally – according to your annual results. Ferrero closed the financial year with a consolidated turnover of 12.3 billion euros, an increase of 7.8 percent compared to the previous year. To what does Ferrero owe its global success?
Globally, Ferrero Group net sales growth has been driven by the geographies least and last affected by the coronavirus crisis; the strong performance of iconic brands such as Nutella, Kinder Bueno and chilled products; the launch of new products including Nutella Biscuits in Italy; and the full integration in the consolidated accounts of products such as Keebler, following its acquisition from Kellogg Company at the end of the 2018/2019 fiscal year.
Speaking on behalf of Ferrero, of course, we managed to achieve growth, guarantee operational continuity and deliver high-quality, fresh products to our discerning consumers thanks to our ability to effectively adapt to an ever-evolving situation.
Globally, over the past few years, Ferrero has also continued to invest in different initiatives…
Yes. The group continued to accelerate certain initiatives: increasing investment in its iconic brands; strengthening internal R&D activities; and, for a second consecutive year, investing in improving and expanding its factories, plants and equipment. As part of the group’s continued technological development strategy, it also expanded its production capacity – the main investments being property, plant and equipment, for its plants in Italy, Germany, the US and Poland.
The fact is, these investments represent the group’s continuous approach to improving the quality, freshness, food safety, competitiveness and – key for Ferrero – the environmental impact of its products.
This is the perfect transition to our next question: how would you define Ferrero’s sustainability approach?
Our 2020 Sustainability Report outlines our new company purpose, “We care for the better”. This very sentence will inspire and drive our sustainability agenda.
When it comes to sustainability, Ferrero’s global initiatives aim to have a positive impact on employees, consumers, families and the local communities in which we operate. Our way of doing things includes our dedication to protecting the environment, the sustainable sourcing of high-quality raw materials, the promotion of responsible consumption and the empowerment of people.
Our sustainability vision for the future openly showcases that, as a group, we always strive to be a positive force for good.
In line with this, in June 2021, Ferrero unveiled its new Palm Oil Charter. How does it differ from the original one?
We updated targets set in our first Palm Oil Charter in 2013 intended to generate environmental, economic and social benefits across the Ferrero palm oil value chain. The new charter addresses challenges with actions that engage suppliers and go beyond high certification standards. It sheds light on our ongoing ambition to achieve a palm oil industry that is good for both people and nature.
To elaborate, as a baseline, Ferrero sources sustainable palm oil that is 100 percent RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) Certified Segregated and traceable back to plantations: a goal initially reached in 2015, becoming one of the first global companies to do so. Ferrero’s approach towards responsible sourcing of palm oil goes beyond this high certification standard through active membership in POIG (Palm Oil Innovation Group) and HCSA (High Carbon Stock Approach), two of the highest value endorsement initiatives currently available for the industry.
As part of this approach, the new charter outlines further actions, tackling three strategic areas identified as critical in an intricate industry where environmental and social issues are oftentimes deeply rooted, complex and interconnected: Human rights and social practices; environmental protection and sustainability; and supplier transparency.
In recent months, Ferrero published its second annual report on activities implemented during 2019/20 under the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI). What can you tell us about it?
The report on activities implemented during 2019/20 under the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), a partnership between the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and leading cocoa and chocolate companies, shows that Ferrero has continued to make strong progress on its contribution to ending deforestation and preserving forests in both these countries.
We’re so pleased that, despite the disruption created by the Covid-19 pandemic, Ferrero has already met or exceeded more than 50 percent of its 2022 targets with two more years to go. As a group, we will continue beyond a number of these targets in critical areas, such as polygon mapping farms to ensure a high level of traceability; covering more hectares with deforestation risk assessment; developing agroforestry; and support in establishing Village Savings and Loans Associations.
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