Published at 2021, May 12th
If we want to leave a planet that is not seriously degraded to our children, both in terms of preserved environment and human well-being, we must collectively and resolutely take action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. As detailed in the EAT-Lancet report, food is the most powerful lever for combining human health with environmental sustainability. Developing a more plant-based diet is the primary motivation that drives us at Bonduelle to reinvent ourselves. And it is far from being the only reason! The Change Now event, a unique annual meeting of positive impact actors, will be an opportunity for us to present how we are reinventing ourselves and to highlight those actors who inspiring us. Join us on May 28!
The health crisis that we have been experiencing for over a year has radically changed consumer habits, particularly in out-of-home catering. In addition, the new expectations of our stakeholders are pushing us to expand beyond the limits of our historical business as an agro-industrial company offer services and to anchor a strong social commitment in our territories… The reasons that motivate our transformation are numerous and challenge us on a daily basis, with our mission always as a decision filter to stay the course. We want to become a company with a positive impact, so we have rewritten our raison d’être: we want to inspire the transition toward a plant-based diet to contribute to people’s well-being and planet health.
The food transition is the battle in which we are engaged on a daily basis. We want to act with and for our stakeholders to take concrete actions together. So that plant-based foods are no longer “on the side” but “at the heart” of the plate. This is what our Greenology Chef support program is all about. With this program, our customer promise goes far beyond the product offer, thanks to various services such as inspiration and innovation.
Initiatives to raise awareness about food are flourishing everywhere and inspire us on a daily basis. This is the case, for example, of the French “Vegetable Plate” (L’assiette végétale) project, which offers collective establishments that wish to set up a “green week on the plate”, with an alternative offer that aims to raise awareness, without any constraints, of more virtuous eating habits for chefs and guests.
The food transition also leads us to imagine new services and channels. This is why we have launched the first salad robot in Europe: Cabaletta. After initial tests in France, the model is now being developed in Germany and we have other prospects for the European market. This robot is unique in that it combines the ultra-freshness of the traditional salad bar, whose sanitary limitations are obvious, with the practicality of the vending machine. Cabaletta is the promise of healthy eating, everywhere and all the time!
Other new channels inspire us and show how the food transition we are part of is concretely underway. This is the case, without drawing up an exhaustive list, of new circuits such as the farmers’ associations, direct sales to producers, shared gardens, community-based urban agriculture…
Finally, our commitment to society is also becoming increasingly important. Since its creation in 2004, the Louis Bonduelle Foundation has been supporting research, communicating and working in the field to promote plant-based food. In 2020, we rethought the Foundation’s action in order to focus it on an impact objective. This is how we rechallenged our calls for projects, by partnering with the participatory financing platform Ulule around the “Let’s Veg Up” project. This is also how we have reinvented our communication, so that it becomes a full-fledged action of the foundation. In 2021, this project, launched in 4 countries, rewarded initiatives that work towards this common fight for the food transition. In France, for example, the “Tablée des Chefs”, an association of chefs committed to the fight against food insecurity and the culinary education of young people, has been named the winner and will be supported by the foundation. But the search for impact did not stop there: we launched the new Instagram account @dansmonassiette_fr, which imagines each piece of content as a lever for transforming eating habits.
These few examples, which are just a sample of the initiatives that are flourishing both at Bonduelle and among the players who inspire us on a daily basis, will feed the discussions on the necessary food transition during the Change Now event. We hope to see many of you there!
Keep up with the latest CSR news from the Bonduelle Group.
