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How We Create Value

Home  >  EN  >  About us  >  How We Create Value

Our proven and sustainable business model is underpinned by our customer-centric approach, creating value for all stakeholders.

OUR KEY RESOURCES
OUR BUSINESS MODEL
OUR VALUE CREATION
OUR KEY STAKEHOLDERS

The above are underpinned by

OUR VALUES, WHICH ARE OUR GUIDING SET OF PRINCIPLES

Click on the relevant section above to learn more.

Our Key Resources

c. 19,000 talented, diverse and passionate colleagues

Long-standing, strategic customer partnerships with in-depth understanding of their, and consumer, needs

Market-leading insight and innovation in own-label fresh prepared food

Well-established and agile supply chain

46

sites across the UK, US and China

£55.6m

of capital invested in 2021

Our Business Model

1 Leverage market insight, innovation and expertise to develop new products
2 Responsibly source high raw materials and directly manage inbound supply chain
3 Manufacture fresh prepared food every day to the highest standards and at scale for our customers

Our Value Creation

Skilled, engaged and progressive talent pool

650

colleagues enrolled on Front-Line Leaders Development Programme

Innovative, high-quality and great-tasting fresh prepared food that consumers love

Meals
Meals
Pizza & Bread
Pizza & Bread
Salads
Salads
Desserts
Desserts

Best-in-class and resilient operations underpinned by operational excellence approach

5.4%

OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN

100%

UK SITES AA+ OR A+ BRCGS RATED

Well-invested, strategically located international footprint to capitalise on future growth

UK

23

factories
US

5

factories
China

9

factories

Strong and sustainable free cash flow generation

£91.2M

Free cash flow

A sustainable business with clear ESG commitments

10.0%

reduction in Group GHG emissions intensity ratio (gross tCO2e/£m reported revenue)

Our Key Stakeholders

communities investors suppliers customers colleagues
Click on the stakeholder group above to learn more.
Our Colleagues Icon

OUR COLLEAGUES

We have c.19,000 colleagues located in 46 sites across the UK, US and China

WHY WE ENGAGE:

  • Our colleagues are the heart of our business, so it is important to understand what matters to them and ensure we incorporate their views into our Group Board decision-making
  • We want our colleagues to feel valued so that we can achieve our vision together

HOW WE ENGAGE TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN STRONG RELATIONSHIPS:

  • Employee Engagement Survey (“EES”)
  • Site and Group Employee Forums
  • Whistleblowing hotline ‘Speak Up!’
  • Dedicated workforce engagement Non-executive Director
  • Bakkavor intranet, quarterly colleague magazine (Just Made) and monthly ESG newsletter

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS:

  • A safe and inclusive place of work
  • Colleagues’ voice is part of the Group’s decision-making
  • To feel supported and have the opportunity to realise their potential

WHAT WE HAVE DELIVERED:

650

colleagues enrolled on the Front-Line Leaders Development Programme

83%

response rate to our most recent EES

25%

reduction in new joiner onboarding process time
Customers Icon

CUSTOMERS

Our customers include UK grocery retailers, US grocery retailers and online direct to consumer brands, as well as international foodservice brands operating in China.

WHY WE ENGAGE:

  • We recognise the importance of building long-term strategic relationships with our customers through ongoing engagement and investment
  • By engaging and sharing ideas with customers we can identify new ways of working together
  • We need to understand the needs of our customers, as well as the demands of the consumer, to create innovative products and respond to new trends that create value for our customers
  • To support our mutual business models by a fair and transparent approach to sharing information, including detail of input costs, and in some cases the establishment of pass-through mechanisms
  • We can assess consumer satisfaction through regular engagement with our customers and gaining consumer insight harnessed from our dedicated insight team, category experts, market data and consumer and customer research and feedback, thus ensuring our products are of the highest quality and meet the required technical and food safety standards
  • To support our customers’ sustainability goals and ambitions as a Trusted Partner

HOW WE ENGAGE TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN STRONG RELATIONSHIPS:

  • Many colleagues across product development, marketing, commercial and technical functions engage with our customers daily
  • Online surveys and focus groups
  • Customer audits
  • Working collaboratively on shared ESG priorities

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS:

  • Ensure responsiveness to customer needs on a timely basis
  • Manage availability of labour and raw materials to help meet demand
  • Minimise disruption due to COVID-19 and industry-wide challenges across the supply chain and labour
  • Understand consumers’ needs and leverage our insight to develop innovative and great-tasting fresh products

WHAT WE HAVE DELIVERED:

>950

number of new products in 2021

100%

of UK sites AA+ and A+ BRCGS grade
Communities Icon

COMMUNITIES

We operate from 46 sites across the UK, US and China covering multiple regions. We want to act responsibly and be a trusted partner to our local communities.

WHY WE ENGAGE:

  • To be a ‘Trusted Partner’ and maintain our licence to operate
  • To support local economic development by creating jobs and supporting local services
  • To remain an employer of choice in our local communities, and attract and retain the best talent

HOW WE ENGAGE TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN STRONG RELATIONSHIPS:

  • We support local charities, schools, sports teams, and projects important both to communities and our colleagues through fundraising, in-kind donations and educational activities
  • We have Group charity partnerships for which we fundraise with a charity events programme
  • We undertake food redistribution, through FareShare and Company Shop
  • We provide employment opportunities, including apprenticeships and graduate placements through an award-winning early careers programme

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS:

  • For the business to operate in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way, and to act with integrity
  • To reduce the impact of the business on the environment by reducing food waste, carbon emissions and using more sustainable packaging as high priorities
  • Support local community initiatives and provide economic opportunities for local people

WHAT WE HAVE DELIVERED:

10.0%

decrease in emissions intensity ratio (gross tCO2e / £m reported revenue)

400

tonnes of plastic packaging removed

200

apprentices in our programme ranked number 1 in TheJobCrowd’s survey in the Consumer Goods & FMCG sector
Investors Icon

INVESTORS

We recognise the importance of engaging with all shareholders and prioritise effective dialogue to ensure that we capture and embrace feedback relating to areas of interest and areas of concern, and to ensure that our obligations are met. We understand that we have a responsibility to ensure that our shareholders’ interests are promoted and we remain committed to delivering value for them.

WHY WE ENGAGE:

  • We want our shareholders to understand our vision and strategy, so we can demonstrate how we create value
  • We want to have an effective channel of communication with existing and potential shareholders to understand what is important to them

HOW WE ENGAGE TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN STRONG RELATIONSHIPS:

  • Investor meetings and conferences, investor events, ongoing investor calls and correspondence with the Head of Investor Relations, CFO, CEO, and the investment community
  • The Chairman, Senior Independent Director and Committee Chairs are available for direct meetings with shareholders where required
  • We welcome queries from shareholders via telephone, post, or email
  • Our website (www.bakkavor.com) is regularly updated and provides a library of all relevant shareholder communications including the Annual Report and Accounts, results releases and share price information
  • Annual General Meeting (AGM) and one-to-one meetings
  • CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) reporting

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS:

  • Delivering long-term sustainable profitable growth
  • To be kept up to date with the key developments in the business and the issues we are facing
  • Understand the business’s exposure to climate risks, including those associated with the transition to a low carbon economy

WHAT WE HAVE DELIVERED:

76

meetings with investors and analysts, including two conferences

1.9x

leverage within target range

6.60p

per share total 2021 dividend
Suppliers Icon

SUPPLIERS

We have well-established supplier partnerships across a global network of over 900 suppliers with whom we collaborate closely, including in areas such as responsible sourcing and detailed Brexit-related planning.

WHY WE ENGAGE:

  • Being able to source high-quality raw materials is an important factor in our ability to deliver value and innovation
  • Availability of labour and raw materials helps maintain the continuity of supply
  • Sourcing in a way that is environmentally sustainable and ethically sound ensures the integrity of our supply chains and our responsibilities as a manufacturing partner

HOW WE ENGAGE TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN STRONG RELATIONSHIPS:

  • Procurement colleagues maintain regular dialogue with suppliers over email, meetings, workshops, and attendance at conferences and supplier relationships are built on a foundation of contractual mutual agreement
  • Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out our expectations of our UK suppliers, forming the basis of our responsible sourcing requirements, including human rights, environmental sustainability and technical integrity
  • We engage with suppliers on a one to one basis to agree specific terms of supply, review performance and the requirement for improvement plans
  • All raw material and packaging suppliers, and agents, are required to be Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (“Sedex”) registered and we utilise the Sedex online supply chain platform which allows us to monitor and assess labour practices in our supply chain

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS:

  • Opportunities to improve and innovate to help grow their business
  • Clarity of forecast requirements and accuracy of delivery
  • A partnership underpinned by trust and transparency
  • Minimising disruption due to Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Fair and transparent discussions on movements in input costs and the input on pricing

WHAT WE HAVE DELIVERED:

100%

tier 1 UK suppliers engaged with on environmental and social issues through our engagement programme

100%

of our UK business’s direct suppliers registered with Sedex

57%

raw materials sourced directly from UK suppliers