Last year was a landmark year for Greenyard. In 2021 we launched our Strategy for 2030, and our ambition is clear: we want to improve life through plant-based offerings which enable healthier lifestyles and more sustainable food supply chains. Our strategy is in line with what has always been our core business and responds to global concerns surrounding our food patterns.
Plant-based convenience – a response to global trends
Greenyard’s Strategy for 2030 is at the heart of the most relevant food trend today. People are increasingly aware of the impact their food patterns have, both on their health and on the planet. A shift towards more plant-based diets is seen as the only way forward. At the same time, people do not want to compromise on taste, quality and convenience. This means there is an enormous market opening up for plant-based products that provide convenience, while remaining close-to-crop, with little or no processing. Bloomberg estimates this market to grow into a global business of around € 150 billion by 2030.
A head start
Plant-based food has been our core business since the start of our company. Our business is not ‘based’ on plants. It is the full power of the pure plant. Low processed and close to the original crop. We have decades of experience in plant-based convenience products – today we already have more than 1 000 products on the market. This gives us an important head start to capture a vital part of this fast-growing market segment. It is what differentiates us from many others. Yesterday, tomorrow and in the coming years.
Moreover, we will also use our ability as a connector in the entire food value chain to further accelerate our efforts in this domain. This is characterised by our strong grower network and our integrated relationships with some of the world’s largest retailers. This unique position in the value chain will enable us to lead the path of change.
Reinforce our unique business model
The way we operate our business is unique, there is no comparison in our industry. The strength of our long-term relationships at both ends of the chain serves as a catalyst for our strategy. In the coming years, we will deepen our close and integrated collaborations across the value chain to the benefit of everyone involved.
Our Integrated Customer Relationships (ICR) start with the consumer’s demand to manage the assortment at our customers, resulting in a shorter, more efficient and more transparent supply chain with a lower environmental impact. By adding layers of added-value services – including quality logistics, packaging and forecasting – we intend to grow volumes and turnover with both new and existing customers.
With our Integrated Grower Relationships (IGR), we adopt the same philosophy at the other end of the chain. Our Group Sourcing project will further strengthen ties with some of the world’s best growers, leveraging our scale to drive efficiencies, improve quality, ensure availability, and minimise waste in an expanding number of categories.
Sustainability remains at the core of our business. It is a guiding principle in everything we do. We have boosted our ambitions is this domain and sharpened our objectives: we will reduce our carbon footprint by 70% by 2030, reduce our water intensity by another 10% by 2025, reduce waste in our operations by 25% by 2025, use 100% sustainable packaging by 2025 and achieve 100% social compliance throughout the chain by 2025.
Expand our added-value offering
By stepping up our 100% plant-based offering, we will respond to growing consumer demand for healthy, low-processed and close-to-crop convenience products. Leveraging on our existing leadership in this domain, we will invest in the expansion of our current portfolio and our manufacturing capacity. As an example, we will continue to grow our mealkits business by introducing new variants and automating production to meet demand in this fast-growing category.
Further investments in our unique Integrated Customer and Grower Relationships (ICR & IGR) are a vital part of our Fork-to-Field strategy in the short and mid-term. Tailor-made menus for our customers – not a one-size-fits-all – will enable us to expand our added-value service offerings and implement solutions to boost productivity, create synergies and improve sustainability. We are also open to targeted mergers and acquisitions to complement and accelerate our strategy.
The investments will be made by deploying a one-off € 30-35m CAPEX over the coming three years, on top of our running CAPEX investments. The one-off CAPEX is expected to be cash flow neutral, given the expected short payback terms, and further expectations of operational and working capital improvements.
We have also sharpened our ambitions for 2025 in this light, as we announced during the Capital Markets Days in December 2021. We expect to increase net sales by around € 650m to € 5bn, implying a CAGR of 5%. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow by around € 35-45m to € 200-210m, which results in a CAGR of 6-7%.
Take things to the next level
Greenyard aims to re-define the future of plant-based food. Our ambition is to create a new third category: valorising plant-based on its own merits, not simply as a replacement or an alternative to meat or dairy and differentiating ourselves from highly processed foods on the market today. Our innovation efforts will be done in a smart and proactive way – quickly testing the potential of new products, services and tools and constantly revising our product portfolio based on market feedback.
Digitalisation and technology are powerful instruments to unlock additional value for growers, customers and end consumers. As we are at the centre of the value chain, we have an enormous amount of data at our disposal on the origin, quality, taste, shelf life and nutritional value of our products. This exceptional level of knowledge provides us with limitless opportunities to develop additional online and personalised services. We will also connect with start-ups and innovators to further explore this domain.