Sustainability Report

 Product transparency and responsible marketing

Product transparency and responsible marketing, including product claims associated with our products, and the nutritional information we provide, is an important sustainability issue because it helps consumers make informed choices about what foods and beverages to purchase and to consume. Proper understanding of what food contains is an essential prerequisite for making healthy food choices and leading healthy lifestyles. Nielsen research shows that 59 percent of consumers around the world have difficulty understanding nutritional labels on food packaging. At Strauss, we aim to achieve the highest possible transparency, beyond food and labeling regulatory requirements where possible, and we encourage consumers to take a keen interest and ask us for further information they might require.     

Clear product labeling and nutritional information for consumers

Within the constraints of product packaging and the large amount of information that must be provided by law for consumers, we aim to make our labeling as clear as possible and ensure that prominent aspects relating to the product content is visible to the consumer. For example, in Europe, legislation requires allergenic information on product labels. This will not be law in Israel until 2015, but at present, we present such information on our products to ensure that our consumers have the best information available at all times.

Internally, we are constantly vigilant and alert to all new regulation relating to product labeling requirements, and ensure that all relevant staff members are informed and changes are made accordingly. In many cases, we prepare ourselves ahead of regulation coming into force. 

Customer satisfaction and service

Our success is measured in our customer satisfaction. We aim to ensure all consumers are delighted with Strauss products, including food products, coffee beverages, Strauss WaterBars or a delicious dessert at one of our Max Brenner Chocolate Bars.  We aim to ensure that our consumers and customers get the best product quality and also the best service. Overall in 2013, we recorded over 154,000 interactions with customers initiated through our call center and online media platforms. That’s more than 660 conversations every single working day of the year.

The voice of the consumer: In 2013, in Israel, we initiated a program to bring the voice of the consumer right onto the production floor, into the conference room and into the hearts and minds of our employees and managers.  We do this by playing recordings of calls from consumers received by our call center to employees and managers in a range of roles. The calls inevitably engender discussion about instances of customer dissatisfaction expressed in the calls, and the corrective action we can take to prevent recurrence. This process brings consumer issues to life and makes them very real for all our staff. Several specific product improvements have been made as a result of these interventions, both to products and to packaging. 

The new flag system: In 2013, we implemented a further improvement in our consumer call center, based on a system of call center representatives “raising flags” to help deal with serious quality issues in real time. This new process raises attention to types of complaints that may not have been identified as immediate priority (for example, not life-threatening) but nevertheless represent a critical issue in terms of consumer trust. An incident raised with a flag is immediately addressed, analyzed and action required is taken without delay, and information is looped back to the representative who raised the flag to complete the cycle. In this way, we maintain consumer trust and confidence relating to issues that are important to them, and are thankful to them for alerting us to potentially serious quality issues.

Responsible marketing communications

Our marketing communications are based on our corporate values and comply with all marketing regulations, aiming to exclude any harmful, immoral, irresponsible or misleading content.  We strive to build long-term trust among our consumers by communicating with integrity and fulfilling our promises. Our marketing staff is fully trained in our Code of Ethics and approach to responsible communications.   

Customer Privacy: At Strauss, we attribute the highest importance to customer privacy.  We adhere to all laws, rules and regulations and strict internal procedures relating to privacy. We carefully manage information security as we maintain our database of consumers and ensure we have required approvals for mailings to them.  We do not share consumer information with any third party. 

Getting close to customers

Our consumers are able to purchase their products through a network of wholesale and retail sales outlets. These organizations are critical partners for Strauss, as the way they do business can significantly affect the availability, quality, affordability and overall presence of our products in the different marketplaces where we operate around the world. As our markets change, our customers become smarter, more aware and more demanding. We invest exceptional efforts to understand our customers’ needs, create positive relationships and establish a framework of interactions based on mutual trust.  

Strauss Israel has over 10,000 points of sales around the country, including small retailers and chain supermarkets. Three years ago, we launched a program to ensure our entire organization is compellingly customer-oriented. As part of this program, we rolled out a workshop for 42 sales district managers to increase commitment and provide tools to help the sales team understand and engage with customers at a deeper level. Each sales manager takes part in visits during which they “shadow” the customer to understand the key issues and decisions that are made in a typical day, and can identify more precisely with the customers’ needs. More than 30 such shadow visits took place in 2013, and helped us see through our customers’ eyes how we can further contribute to advancing healthy lifestyles and provide outstanding service.