Everything about Iglo Group, for everyone everywhereThe latest news from across the Group

26 June 2015Issue 03

On 26 May, we introduced our Green Captain to the Dutch market at the Forever Food Together launch in Amsterdam. Antje Schubert, Harald Guimarães and Peter Hajipieris welcomed guests to the impressive Kantine VisAfslag venue in Scheveningen Harbour. The day began with a workshop for food journalists and bloggers, followed by a lunch for key press and stakeholders, including the NL Food Association, the MSC and the Ministry. Well done to all involved – the event raised awareness of our CSR goals and showed how we’re helping people act more responsibly when it comes to food waste.

FFT launches in the Netherlands

It’s been said a few times recently that there are exciting times ahead of us, which feels genuinely motivating. I joined Iglo Group in April 2007, just months after Permira’s acquisition of the company from Unilever, which seems like a different era now. There’s still quite a number of us with the company who remember those early days but, even for us, it’s easy to forget just how far we’ve come.

When I look back at those first few years what I remember is the pioneering spirit. The simple truth is we weren’t a frozen food company in those days - we were a collection of disparate markets. But with the determination and motivation to seize the opportunity in front of us, to build on the strengths we had and to develop the ones we needed, all the people who have worked for Iglo Group (past and present) succeeded in creating Europe’s biggest – but more importantly in my opinion – best frozen food business.

The messageBIGTania HowarthChief Operating Officer

As Nomad have said, that’s why they chose to buy our company and to make us their first investment. I think they can see the belief we have in our brands and the ambition to grow our category by creating great tasting food to be enjoyed every day, at every meal, by everybody. I think they can see that we still have that pioneering spirit.

And in many ways that’s how I feel now about the future, a real sense of being the authors of our own destiny. I’m looking forward to creating a new world which takes the best of what we already are and lets us build a bright future. I hope you are too.

26 June 2015Issue 03

Monday 1 June was the first day of Nomad’s ownership. It’s an exciting time for us at Iglo and a number of sites held events to mark the occasion. In Bremerhaven, employees gathered for a barbeque in the sunshine, while the team in Reken enjoyed an American themed party. Thanks to those who organised the events and made sure everyone had a great time.

Celebrating the new

ABOVE: The Reken team enjoyed an American themed partyLEFT: The team in Bremerhaven got together for a barbeque in the sunshine

26 June 2015Issue 03

When the team behind our new Lightly Coated Fish range were looking for inspiration, they turned to the people who buy our food. In sensory testing, consumers told us they wanted light, crunchy and delicately seasoned coatings that perfectly complemented the flavour of the fish. From this insight, we created Lightly Coated Fish – an outstanding

Lightly Coated – a recipe for success

product that’s achieving excellent concept and product test results, and exceptional first-in-market indications.

Just weeks after launching in Portugal and Austria, Lightly Coated is off to a great start, thanks to a brilliantly managed launch by the local marketing and sales team. They’ve worked hard to make sure shoppers are aware of the range and have strong reasons to buy. And their efforts have paid off – already Portugal share is up 16ppts, driving overall category growth, and Austrian results are exceeding targets, achieving rate-of-sale in line with top-selling skus at launch.

Lightly Coated plays a big part in our ambition to position ourselves as a strong brand not just within frozen, but also in a broader food context, bringing new buyers to the category. The range will help fuel the growth of Coated Fish and there are already plans to take Lightly Coated into segments such as Poultry. This is just the start of what’s set to be a long-term success story for Iglo – let’s keep the momentum going.

Perfect Store is about giving shoppers a strong reason to stop at the freezer aisle and pop our products in their trolleys. That’s exactly what Tesco and Birds Eye did in Ireland with Frozen Meal Deals. Their eye-catching displays and simple menu ideas for family meals showed how versatile our products are and encouraged shoppers to buy across our range.

Presenting the perfect store

When Findus launched the delicious new Dolce Buongiorno range in Italy last month, they treated the people of Milan to breakfast with a smile. On 16 May, the Dolce Buongiorno pop-up café opened its doors, serving up tasty croissants, waffles and crêpes – with a side order of fun.

Once inside, visitors could have their picture taken with breakfast-themed props, including a bedroom background and humorous morning mood quotes. They could also take part in a morning mood quiz that revealed whether they jumped out of bed with a spring in their step – or not! As well as creating a lot of buzz in one of the city’s prime locations, the campaign generated valuable coverage on social media, as visitors shared their pictures with friends.

And the fun didn’t stop there. Flash mobs took place throughout the day, in Milanese Park and Corso Sempione, with actors and dancers entertaining the crowds with performances themed around waking up in a good mood.

Findus serve up breakfast with a smile

26 June 2015Issue 03

Highly imaginative and impactful, the Dolce Buongiorno launch was supported by advertising around Milan, as well as a strong TV, digital and couponing campaign. This builds on the success of the press launch, which took place back in April, when over 30 food journalists attended a press breakfast. Marketing Director Renato Roca gave interviews to eight key titles, securing fantastic coverage in 46 publications.

Early results post-launch are looking good, with rate-of-sale more than doubling and a lot of interest from retailers. And while the frozen breakfast market is still small in Italy, we’ve got our sights firmly set on creating a new market segment and taking it by storm. Well done to the team at Findus Italy behind this brilliant launch.

When did you join Iglo Group?I joined Unilever in 2004 as a trainee and spent two years in R&D in frozen food before moving on with Unilever to Vlaardingen. In 2008, I rejoined Iglo as R&D team leader in frozen meals.

Tell us about your career journey so farAfter graduating in food technology, I started out as a Technical Trainee. I got my first management position after two years, working with Vlaardingen as a Technical Project Leader for dairy products. I then came back to Iglo, taking a role as R&D Team Leader for frozen ready meals. Soon my role covered all products coming out of Reken and I took responsibility for local German R&D contact, supporting the MU. I then became a Technical Brand Manager for the side dish team before being promoted into my current role as Reken QA Manager in March 2015.

What’s a typical day like? There’s no such thing – every day brings new challenges. In May, we had two very important audits (the IFA and BRC), so we were really busy getting prepared. I’m pleased to say we were successful and achieved re-certification. Right now we’re in the middle of spinach and herb

season and, with the production lines running on full speed, there are many quality related issues to take care of.

What do you like most about working at Iglo Group? Great tasting products, highly motivated colleagues.

Creating better meals together – that’s what we’re about. Which team achievement are you most proud of?I’m really new in my team, so there’s not one single achievement I want to mention. But I’m really proud of my team – of their energy, passion and the mindset they have to always find a solution.

Do you have any advice for colleagues looking to move up the ladder?Know your passion and your strengths, define your way and go for it!

What’s your favourite Iglo product and why?Cream spinach – it tastes good, my children love it and I know the whole supply chain. It’s a real high quality product.

My Iglo JourneyAnnika DegenQuality Assurance Manager

Department: Quality Assurance

Location: Reken

There are quite a few of us at Iglo Group, working across 12 markets. Each of us has a unique story to share. This issue, it’s from Annika Degen, Quality Assurance Manager at our Reken factory in Germany.

WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

We’re committed to o�ering people food that allows them to make healthy choices – it ’s one of our Forever Food Together goals. �e experts on our Nutrition Advisory Board (NAB) play an important role in helping us achieve this. We’re delighted to announce Dr France Bellisle – a nutrition specialist from the University of Paris – has joined the Board and will be advising us on the latest developments in nutritional health.

A new member for the NAB GET INTOUCH

Any feedback or stories to share?Contact the team via:thebigpicture@mantracontent.com

26 June 2015Issue 03