Mission Report 2017 - Plum Organics
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Mission
Report
2017
| 1
WHAT’S INSIDE ... A Letter from Our Mission Team 2 Mission Pillars 6 Core Truths 7 Plum Timeline 8 B-Corp Commitment 10 Very Best Food 12 All Little Ones 22 Responsible Business 32 Culture 42
Dear friends,
Every year, I look forward to taking this moment to reflect on our mission. To think about
how far we’ve come and how very far we hope to go. Early days, we were wide-eyed, excited,
and huddled in a space too small for our ambitions for our growing team. We knew we had
a big idea about what baby food could be – how much better, indeed, it should be – and we
were enthusiastic champions of business as a force for good.
Today, we are strong and getting stronger. Those core ideals – making sure little ones have
access to the very best food from the very first bite and using business as a force for good
– are the foundation of our mission and our guiding principles for day-to-day decisions. We
have forged our way to industry-leading expertise in organic baby food, and our mission
has never been more central to how we run our business.
Over the last year, we doubled our commitment to Homeless Prenatal Program, offering
vulnerable families easy access to certified lactation consulting and safe, comfortable
places to nurse their infants. We built an online ingredient glossary, providing parents
access to clear explanations of all the ingredients we use and why we use them. And
we made great strides in our effort to continuously improve our environmental impact.
The details you’ll find in this report reflect a tremendous amount of work and a deep image TBD - employees
commitment to our mission. We live and breathe these words, and for that I am deeply
proud and profoundly grateful.
We have so much more to do, and we have big plans. Next year, we plan to make further
improvements to our environmental impact and continue to evolve our business practices
as a certified B Corp.
Until then, thank you. For being a fan or follower, for using your life and your purchase
decisions to make this planet a little better, and for caring enough about our baby food
brand to keep track of our progress. Let us know how you think we’re doing. We’re all ears.
Respectfully,
Tiffany McNeil
Director of Mission, Insights, and Strategy
Dana Trans
SENIOR MISSION
A SSOCIATE
Our mission components Plum Core Truths
Values, aspirations, tenets… whatever you call them, these are
ours. Our Core Truths are what we use to describe both who we
VER Y BEST FOOD
are and who we strive to be; what we look to when we’re making
Developing products to help change the a tough call, and how we ultimately perform together as a team.
way little ones eat
When you walk through our doors, we expect you
to bring your whole, real, delightfully original self.
G IV E B ACK Bring your quirks, your colors, your talents, your
passion, your experience, and your pride. You’re
Advancing solutions for childhood hunger and the person we hired. No one else will do.
malnutrition through The Full Effect®
As leaders, we are courageously vulnerable,
intensely empathetic, and insatiably driven to
help others. We know that compassion breeds
RES PO N SIBLE BUSINESS confidence – in ourselves, in each other, and in
our brand.
Acting responsibly through transparency,
sustainability, and our B Corp commitment
We believe it’s everyone’s job to stand up for what
matters. Be courageous enough to ask questions,
C ULT URE to challenge the status quo, and to evolve as
needed. It’s not always easy. But, if you fight the
Connecting and nourishing our team with good fight, we’ll always have your back.
our mission and way of doing business
6 | MISSION PILLARS CORE TRUTHS | 7
2016
2014
Our Wellness Advisory Panel is official.
We’ve brought together a group
Timeline
of diverse backgrounds, including
parenting, pediatric medicine, nutrition,
Ta-da! We’re delighted to give the and culinary arts to help ensure we’re
Homeless Prenatal Program our first living into Plum’s mission with our
Healthy Feeding Initiative Grant. products and team.
Over ten years ago, Plum set out to revolutionize baby food. We brought flavor, texture and
modern ingredients to the baby food aisle. We designed packaging that made baby food
Ring, ring! Plum rings the opening bell
convenient and high-quality food effortless. And from the start, we committed to using at NASDAQ to raise awareness for food
business as a force for good. insecurity in America.
We heart dogs. Our Emeryville office
2012
It’s a colorful world! Our new line of
is officially a dog-friendly office.
Eat Your Colors purees is curated by
nature’s own vibrant hues showcased
through a clear window to engage
2008
baby’s sense of sight, while delightful
Featured in Target’s first Made to Matter. flavors expand their palate.
The “Nat-Pack” was formed, made of the
founders Eric Ryan from Method, John
from Seventh Generation, Ido Leffler from Our newest baby: Plum’s organic
YestoCarrots, and Neil Grimmer from Plum. infant formula, made without corn
syrup solids.
Dr. Alan Greene joins our team Welcome new Plum Parents! Plum’s
as a pediatric advisor and On our quest to bring nutrition education for brand ambassador program is here –
We’re named to Inc. nutrition expert, supporting babies, we launch our online Plum Resource an extension of our team, these parents
Plum becomes a certified Magazine’s “500 List of Plum’s food philosophy, product Center with articles about infant feeding, Woo hoo! We’ve completed our help us drive the parenting unfiltered
B-Corporation Fastest Growing Companies.” development and mission. toddler pickiness and more. Green Business Certification process. conversation coast to-coast.
Plum takes-off as a baby food We launch the first spouted Our small but mighty team Plum incorporates as a Public The ‘Workplace of our Future’ culture program Wellness Wednesday (WW) is introduced
brand within the Nest Collective, a baby food pouch to the U.S. launches The Full Effect Benefit Corporation (PBC) is launched using human-centered design at Plum’s HDQ – one of the first programs
collective of natural foods brands. market – from concept to and the Super Smoothie with the goal to make Plum a great place to stemming out of Workplace of Our Future.
shelf in three months! buy-give product. work not only today, but in the future as well. During WW, colleagues put their work aside
to learn from some of the best minds in the
wellness space.
Parenting. As parents and friends, we’ve
all experienced the ups and downs of this
crazy journey. Our Parenting Unfiltered
movement is launched, creating unfiltered
2009
conversations for parents everywhere.
2007
Tots need to eat well too! Meet the parents! We’re
Plum breaks into toddler acquired by the Campbell
feeding with the introduction Soup Company, making Plum
of the Mighty portfolio. one of the first PBCs part of a
wholly-owned subsidiary. We’ve been recognized as one of the
most engaging brands by Landor Pulse.
What an honor!
2015
2017
2013
8 | TIMELINE TIMELINE | 9
PLUM’S WHAT IS A PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION?
Plum adopted the legal status as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) in
PUBLIC BENEFIT 2013, securing legal obligation to both make a profit and serve a greater
societal purpose. A PBC is a type of corporate entity, like ‘Inc’ or ‘LLC’,
which ensures that if corporate ownership ever changes, our mission
and public benefit will not. Plum was one of the first to reincorporate
To deliver nourishing,
as a Public Benefit Corporation in the state of Delaware, solidifying our
mission into the heartbeat and governance of the business.
WHAT IS A B CORP?
organic food to our
B Corporations use the power of business to drive social and
environmental change. B Corp is to business what Fair Trade
certification is to coffee or USDA Organic Certification is to milk. B Corps
are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social
nation’s little ones and
and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Today, there is a growing community of 130 industries in 5 countries
around the world, working together toward a unifying goal of redefining
to raise awareness
success in business and demonstrating that doing the right thing makes
for good and a profitable business. Stories shared throughout this
report highlight our continual support of this greater mission, areas of
opportunity, and how we aim to create benefit for not only our fiduciary
and advance solutions
stakeholders, but also our consumers, our communities, our employees
and planet.
OUR BENEFIT JOURNEY
for childhood hunger
Each year, we assess and report on our performance against the B-Corp
standards, and use our reporting as a tool to identify new best practices
and aim to improve our impact each year.
and malnutrition in the 110
United States
108 108
105
100
99
B - CORP S CORE
95
93
91
90
FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17
10 | B CORP COMMITMENT B CORP COMMITMENT | 11
We are what we eat. And so are babies!
very Which is why we believe every little one
deserves the very best start in life with
the very best food.
best food 201 7 HIGHLIGHTS
• Organic-Center Research
• Eat Your Colors Product Launch
12 | VERY BEST FOOD VERY BEST FOOD | 13
Our Food Philosophy
Our food philosophy focuses on the first 1000 days, a critical window for baby’s palate
development and growth. We create “culinary-inspired” recipes that celebrate the
vibrancy and diversity the world has to offer. By creating foods that emphasize a wide
variety of flavor, texture and color, we can help inspire a lifetime of healthy eating.
FROM WOMB TO WADDLE
Believe it or not, baby’s tiny palate starts budding in the womb!
From pregnancy on through the first two years, food helps spark
baby’s growth, eating habits and overall development.
+ +
BE TASTE BUDS A COLORFUL INTRODUCTION TACKLE TODDLER PICKINESS
Did you know? Babies have more taste When baby is ready for solids, help teach Around the time tots begin to walk,
buds during the 3rd trimester than those tiny taste buds what to like! Skip a natural fear of new things sets in –
at any other point in life! They begin the bland, white rice cereal and introduce including unfamiliar foods (or Food
experiencing dynamic flavors in utero a variety of whole grains, fruits, veggies, Neophobia). To fight this fear, use foods
and, later on, through breastfeeding. herbs & spices. and flavors tot already loves as a bridge
to try new things.
14 | VERY BEST FOOD VERY BEST FOOD | 15
We Love Organic! ORGANIC RESEARCH
As an organic food company, we strongly believe in the advantages
100
of Plum Sales are
%
Research is key in breaking down barriers to enhance organic
expansion, support organic policy, and build clear lines of
organic food brings to our families and Mother Nature. We recognize from Certified
Organic Products
communication between organic industry stakeholders.
that human health and planet health are deeply connected; that the
food we grow and the land we share are interdependent. Plum partnered with the Organic-Center and the SHINE institute
at the Harvard School of Public Health on the Net-Positive Impacts
of Organic on Climate Change and Human Health study. The
BENEFITS OF ORGANIC research is set out to examine the positive impacts of organic
production and farming for the environment and human health.
Increases local Builds healthy soil Sequesters
economic from techniques carbon from the
development1 like crop rotation2 atmosphere3
Fewer persistent Fewer synthetic No genetically
pesticides or growth hormones modified
herbicides or antibiotics organisms (GMOs)
LBS. OF ORGANIC INGREDIENTS WE’VE PURCHASED
FY17
27,374,281 lbs
FY16
26,900,340 lbs
FY15 22,422,527 lbs
1 Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities. 2 "Henneron, L.,
Bernard, L., Hedde, M. et al. Agron. Sustain. Dev. (2015) 35: 169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-014-0215-8" 3 "National Soil Project,
Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States †The Organic Center, Washington, DC, United States "
16 | VERY BEST FOOD VERY BEST FOOD | 17By Parents, for Parents
When it comes down to it, Plum is a company by parents, for parents. We know that
properly nourishing baby is easier said than done, so a key part of what we do is to
empower parents with the knowledge and tools they need to provide their little ones the
very best food from the start. Our food philosophy comes to life in the shape of the:
1. Products We Make
We create products to constantly expose little ones to new
flavors, empower healthy choices, offer convenient options
for busy families, and keep the feeding journey fun.
2. Wellness Advisory Panel
We lean on our Wellness Advisory Panel to ensure Plum’s
mission is actionable, credible, and grounded in the most
progressive thinking out there.
3. Resource Center and Resources
We’ve developed Plum’s Resource Center, Channel, and The Feed
Blog to offer parents over 130 pieces of original, easy-to-digest info
on feeding and nutrition.
18 | VERY BEST FOOD VERY BEST FOOD | 19Our Newest Baby:
Eat Your Colors ®
It’s a colorful world, baby! Eat Your Colors® was our first line of recipes curated by
color, celebrating the beauty and diversity of nature’s vibrant hues.
Load & Launch
The line launched with 6
different pouches. Each pouch
Dream & Engage brought it’s own vibrancy and
color to baby’s world.
We learned one of the biggest
challenges for parents is providing the
right variety of nutrients to baby. So we
Did you know Plum was the
focused on an easy shortcut many of first baby food company
us were already using — color! to introduce Cauliflower,
Turmeric, Eggplant, Sorghum
& Bell Pepper into the mix?!
The Eat Your Colors® line was
imagined to reach more of baby’s
senses — bright colors, new flavors, Ideate & Build
and enhanced texture, when possible. Make & Lock
We tried a million ideas while
considering… After months of curating, testing, and sharing,
we decided on….
• Visual sensory and color to
• Vibrant purees made with ingredients for
engage baby’s sense of site
bright color, texture, and taste
• Texture
• A clear window to showcase the vibrant
• Nutrition & sugar content colors
• Ingredient exposure • Packaging graphics that celebrate
discovery of color
• Recipes which include new ingredients never
seen in the baby market
• Veggie forward ingredients, and
8g of sugar or less.
20 | VERY BEST FOOD VERY BEST FOOD | 21All little ones deserve access to the
very best food. Because when little
all little
ones are full of enough nutrious food,
they can live into their full potential,
and have their full effect on the world.
ones HIGHLIGHTS 201 7
• 4,039,691 organic meals and snacks donated
• 9,700 nutrition education booklets given out
• 1,143 communities supported
22 | ALL LITTLE ONES ALL LITTLE ONES | 23We believe in a future where all little ones have access to the very best
food, and childhood hunger and malnutrition is no longer prevalent in the
US. But, we still have a ways to go….
Since the launch
of The Full Effect
T H E PROB L E M : FO O D IN SECU R IT Y ®
A food insecure child does not have access to
consistent and sufficient food to be fully nourished.
in 2013, we’ve
POVERTY 1 4 . 5 M IL L IO N CH IL DR E N
in America live in poverty.
donated over
CAUSES
15,000,000
FOOD
INSECURITY
1 IN 5 CH IL DR E N meals and snacks
in America is food insecure.
That’s 13.1 million kids.
to little ones
in need.
W H I C H R E S U LT S I N
Malnourished children are
more likely to experience
MALNUTRITION A
B C
nutrition related higher rate learning and
disease like of illness & developmental
diabetes & obesity hospitalization delays
24 | ALL LITTLE ONES ALL LITTLE ONES | 25ON - GOING DONATIONS & DISASTER RELIEF
Convoy of Hope helps to deliver millions of Plum meals out to
How The communities in need through their nation-wide network.
Full Effect® works
We produce nutritious products
and nutrition education content Nationwide
Delivers hope by sharing
food, water, emergency
supplies, agriculture
tips & know-how and RURAL COMPASSION
tricks opportunities that We support nutrition and education programs in rural
empower people to communities, in the hopes to prevent the viscous cycle
live free of poverty of poverty.
and hunger.
W E S U PPO RT ED
That we donate to our partners
439
Paul in
California, MO
rural communities
12
outreaches
COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS
13,500
Community events provide a day filled with services
such as, onsite mammograms, dental exams, nutritional
education guidance, bags of groceries (including Plum
Who get them into the hands of children baby food for families with little ones!), family portraits,
little ones across America children’s shoes, and a carnival for populations of need.
26 | ALL LITTLE ONES ALL LITTLE ONES | 27PINE RIDGE FOOD BANK ONGOING PRODUCT
Plum volunteers helped to DONATIONS
open a permanent food Plum donated 5 pallets of
bank on Pine Ridge Indian baby food to HPP 4 times
Reservation in 2015. Today, this year. The food is handed
the food bank continues to Justin, Cathryn
out in the public communal
Boulder, CO area. Visitors to HPP have
serve 50 families a week. & Walt
Pine Ridge, SD unlimited access to Plum
PINE RIDGE RESERVATION BACKPACK PROGRAM San Francisco, CA
Works with communities baby and tots products.
in crisis through We continue to donate product to support the Pine Focuses on ending
Ridge Loneman School Backpack program. Since it’s child poverty and HPP EVENTS SPONSORSHIP
emergency food relief
and empowerment launch in 2015, our partners have seen increased school family homelessness We’ve supported HPP events including their Health Fairs,
programs. attendance and eagerness to learn! in the Bay Area, Luncheons, and Baby Shower Celebrations to continue to
serving over 4000 build and support the local community.
families every year.
200
ADULTS
2
150 breastfeeding
rooms completed
6
CHILDREN
served on a weekly basis HEALTHY FEEDING INITIATIVE GRANT
from the food bank We launched the early infant feeding grant in
250
SCHOOL GARDEN PROGRAM lactation educators collaboration with our Infant Formula. HPP developed
hired and trained a healthy feeding curriculum to foster a supportive
This year, Plum volunteers ventured to the reservation
community around breastfeeding.
600
to expand the garden program at Pine Ridge School. All
produce created from the school’s garden program is
students provided with
available to the community – with approximately 100
weekend nourishment
community members eating from it.
for 38 weeks out of breastfeeding
the year from the supplies provided
backpack program Hi Francesca!
28 | ALL LITTLE ONES ALL LITTLE ONES | 29#GivingTuesday
Plum participated in the global movement to celebrate Giving Tuesday – the Tuesday
after Thanksgiving and the international day of giving. Our Plum Parents gathered
parents from within their community to volunteer at local non-profits throughout the
United States.
80 volunteers
IN 8 CITIES ORGANIZED
DISTRIBUTION OF
We love our
35,000 meals
Plum Parents &
City Dads Groups!
FOR 10 DIFFERENT
O R G A N I ZAT I O N S
30 | ALL LITTLE ONES ALL LITTLE ONES | 31Leaving a baby-sized footprint for
us means increasing transparency,
sustainability, and committing to
use business as a force for good. By
thinking and acting sustainably, we
can secure the highest quality of life
for little ones now and those to come.
HIGHLIGHTS 201 7
• Launched Ingredient Glossary
• Reduced the size of the pouch master cartons to
lessen our environmental footprint
• Optimized logistics to remove ~85 trucks
off the road
• Converted to solar electric at Plum HQ
business
for good
32 | BUSINESS FOR GOOD BUSINESS FOR GOOD | 33From farm to baby Our
ingredients
We know that food is personal. So, we set out on a journey in 2015 to personally get to
know all our suppliers and farmers a little bit better and increase transparency into the
carrots from
communities, families, and environment that bring our products to life. Check out a few
ingredient suppliers from our portfolio below! Bolthouse Farms
We think everyone has a right to know
what is in their food. That’s why, we have
taken strides to increase transparency
into our products through our digital
bell pepper from peaches from ingredient glossary.
blueberries
Chiala Farms SVZ from SVZ We’ve highlighted the ingredients we
love and those that may be a bit more
unfamiliar, so parents are resourced with
the right tools to know what exactly their
baby is eating.
pumpkin from cauliflower from check out
our new
Stahlbush Grimmway farms ingredients
Island Farms glossary!
peas from
Stahlbush Island
Farms
Our ingredient work is nowhere near
done. We’ll continue to look for ways to
improve such that, we…
spinach from • Maximize the inherent nutrition of the
Chiala Farms whole ingredients
• Push our product quality forward,
bananas beyond just flavor
from Paradise
Ingredients • Explore new formats and textures that
will further help baby and tots with
their developmental milestones
34 | BUSINESS FOR GOOD BUSINESS FOR GOOD | 35Sustainable Packaging Transportation
In FY16, we completed a streamlined Life Cycle Assessment of our pouches. We learned
that they have a smaller environmental footprint than glass jars in regard to greenhouse This year, we launched our Transportation Optimization Program to reduce the number
gas emissions and waste generated. of trucks on the road and greenhouse gas emissions from our freight.
To reduce the footprint of our pouches even further, we transitioned our entire pouch In only six months, we’ve removed 85 trucks from the road and avoided 944 mt CO2e
portfolio from a 2 pouch by 6 pouch master carton to a 1 pouch by 6 pouch master carton. emissions. Over the next two years, we hope to see further reductions of emissions by
taking more trucks off the road
2017
outer
corrugate
corrugate 85
case
sleeve LTLs
inner
cardstock
944
sleeve
MT CO₂e
pouch pouch
2 x 6 MASTERCASE 1 x 6 MASTERCASE
This switch resulted in TWO-YEAR GOALS
2018 2019
TOTAL POUCH CORRUGATE
POUCH CARBON FOOTPRINT* PACKAGING WEIGHT
17% 40%
POUCH INBOUND POUCH RECYCLED
TRANSPORTATION TO OUR DC’S CORRUGATE INCREASED TO
15% 100% 313.65 LTLs 523.53 LTLs
* Based on streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) by Environmental Packaging International on various
packaging options, using a web-based Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool.
= About 83 LTLs
WE LOV E P RAT T I ND U S TRI E S !
As Plum’s packaging supplier, they divert waste from landfills and use it to create energy LTL = Less thanTruck Load
for their facilities. They produce 100% recycled paper and packaging, like our new 1 x 6 MT = Metric Tonnes
Master Case!
36 | BUSINESS FOR GOOD BUSINESS FOR GOOD | 37Office sustainability
We made major renovations to our Plum building over the past few years, and continue
to look for ways to incorporate our mission through green building practices. We try to
make it easy for employees to make small mindful changes here at the office, so we can
collectively leave a baby sized footprint on the planet.
AMMENITIES The living wall
keeps our air fresh and re-
circulates water, using 75% less
water than traditional systems
ENERGY Efficient lighting to
minimize energy usage AMMENITIES Quiet
OFFSETS Purchased carbon
space to recharge and
credits from Native Energy to offset
refresh. Blankies and
GHGs created from our office space
mood lighting included
ENERGY Energy Star® rated
appliances minimize energy use
from our kitchen appliances COMMUTING & TRAVEL
Incentivize use of public
transportation and virtual
meeting technology to reduce
in-person meetings and limit
WASTE Recycling and compost bins corporate travel
in the kitchen and centralized waste WASTE Alternative
bins near desks encourage proper WATER Low-flow faucets, taps, waste stations provide
sorting and overall landfill reduction toilets, urinals, and showerheads safe and convenient
and signage reduce water usage options for disposing
batteries, plastic bags,
AMMENITIES Very best e-waste, corks, and more
COMMUTING & TRAVEL AMMENITIES Private
Indoor bike parking food from the very first
pumping room to give minute in the office
and centralized office mothers space to nourish
space encourage green their little ones
commutingSustainability
partnerships
We are proud to collaborate with like-minded organizations who share our
commitment to foster a happier and healthier planet.
Bay Area based program Collaborative of natural Standardized labeling Group of folks devoted Trusted, go-to source of Community of sustainable
that verifies businesses foods companies working system to clearly to cultivating a better information for scientific business leaders driving
that meet higher standards toward a vision to reverse communicate recycling understanding of what research about organic positive impact on
of environmental climate change instructions to the public organic really means and food and farming our industry and our
performance the environmental and environment
health benefits choosing
organic provides
Collaboration of leading B Corp provider of carbon Collective of organizations B Corporation partner that Public agency funding
companies committed offsets, renewable energy concerned with protecting aims to develop improved projects that help reduce
to advance how flexible credits, and carbon consumers’ right to know, recycling efforts and waste in our local
plastic packaging can be accounting software and support the fight for creates new end markets Alameda County
effectively sorted mandatory labeling of for materials
for recovery genetically engineered
foods
40 | BUSINESS FOR GOOD BUSINESS FOR GOOD | 41By connecting and nourishing
our team with our mission, we
can preserve the special-ness of
Plum’s culture.
HIGHLIGHTS F Y1 7
• New Workplace of our Future programs
implemented, such as Flexible Work Guidelines,
Food Philosophy & Mission 101, and Wellness
Wednesday
• Kick-off of the Inclusion Challenge with WorkLab
• Raised $14,000+ through employee-led
fundraising initiatives
culture
42 | CULTURE CULTURE | 43Workplace of our Future In 2016, we launched the Workplace of our Future principles to help protect the
specialness of our culture. This year was the first full year where the principles were
thoughtfully implemented into specific programs. We’ve already seen dramatic results!
VISION VISION VISION VISION
Employees are part of Understanding of People feel empowered Open work spaces
dynamic teams that well-being is highly to manage their own foster spontaneous
come together to work individualized time, and leadership collaboration while
on projects effectively and respect for helps to keep focus alternative spaces let
with a clear focus accommodating each on priorities so that people find focus and get
person is built into the resources are balanced. work done.
PROGRAMS culture
Began formal Mgr PROGRAMS PROGRAMS
Trainings to ensure PROGRAMS Established quarterly Ideated on space not
communication Created the Wellness business updates just as desks but as a
between managers Wednesday series to to revisit strategic fluid environment for
and employees is a educate employees priorities and provide employees to work based
two-way conversation about all things wellness an opportunity to hear on the task at hand.
covering long term (food or not!). Topics from all functions.
professional and have included: Ayurveda,
developmental goals. Paleo cooking, “Our physical workspace is
Self Defense, and “I know what I need to do to enjoyable to work in.”
VISION VISION
76%
Naturopathic Solutions be successful in my role.”
“I know how my work
83%
to Stress. People are able to work Company mission and
contributes to the seamlessly with their values are integrated
goals of Plum.” team whether they are into all aspects of the
96%
“My Manager genuinely working from home, employee experience
cares about my wellbeing.” VISION
in remote office, or at so that our people
91%
Team, department, and Plum HQ. feel empowered to
cross-departmental implement them to the
respect and PROGRAMS fullest
camaraderie is fostered Designed Flexible
through compassion, Work Guidelines to PROGRAMS
empathy, and time spent be applied in a way Developed the Core
together. that works for the Truth Recognition and
unique needs of each #Team Parent Profiles
PROGRAMS
individual.
Launched the diversity Added in Food
& inclusion challenge to Philosophy and Mission
ensure that all voices at “We are genuinely 101 for New Hires
Plum are welcomed supported if we choose to
and heard. make use of flexible working
I know how, in my role, I can
arrangements.”
help further our mission.”
“I feel I’m part of a team.”
86% 85%
83%
44 | CULTURE CULTURE | 45Programs and Partnerships How we’re catering to our
WORK LAB working parents
A team of Plum employees worked MILK STORK
alongside Work Lab, a design accelerator, A program that makes it easy to get your
and other forward thinking, innovative breast milk home when you’re away on
Bay Area companies to tackle the topic of business. That way, our parents don’t
Diversity & Inclusion. have to choose between their career and
INTERNAL D&I TEAM their commitment to breastfeeding.
We created an internal Diversity
TEND LAB
and Inclusion team, who focuses on
implementing the ideas coming out of the Tend Lab facilitated an internal survey
WorkLab focus session. to gauge how parents experience work,
and educated all employees on their
BCORP INCLUSION CHALLENGE research around parenting as it relates to
We participated in the B Corp Inclusion performance at work.
Challenge, which helped to jump start the
dialogues of Diversity & Inclusion at Plum. PARENTAL RETURN FROM LEAVE
GENDER NEUTRAL ADVOCACY
% of parents who returned to
work over the past 3 years
Love Wins. We consciously created 94%
gender neutral restrooms and shared
articles around gender pronouns. 79%
An Inclusive Community Plum National
We aspire to be an inclusive and equitable workplace for all, and foster a culture of Average
belonging so that everyone feels welcome and all voices are heard. We recognize that
by fostering a supportive environment, we can inspire everyone to Bring Their Own Self,
and enable behaviors that drive a culture of innovation.
Diversity at Plum
64% of 28% of
managerial managerial
staff are staff are
women minorities
46 | CULTURE CULTURE | 47Each month,
we celebrate one DAVE, SR. MANAGER R&D
“Dave is incredibly passionate
about making great tasting
SHANNON, FINANCIAL ANALYST
“I have worked a lot with Shannon LYNN, ASSOCIATE BRAND MANAGER
Plum employee
products, but most importantly will over the years and love that she “Lynn is always happy to jump in,
go that extra mile for his team and genuinely brings her REAL self mentor, and help people when they
his teammates.” to work” need a gentle touch.”
who embodies
what we call our LINDA, SR. REGULATORY MANAGER
“You will have a hard time finding DREW, IT MANAGER AMI, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
‘Core Truths’, and
someone more passionate than “He embodies everything one could “You can tell how fulfilling it is for
Linda about giving babies the best ask for in a teammate, and Ami to see others succeed and feel
nutrition possible.” constantly goes above-and-beyond.” supported.”
goes above and
beyond with their ROD, FP&A MANAGER
integrity, impact,
“He showed real persistence and STEPHANY, PEOPLE & CULTURE MANAGER AMY, BUSINESS PROCESS IMP. ANLST
managed to get it all done with that “Patience! Patience! and more “ I don’t think I know anyone else
friendly smile we have all come to Patience! She takes care of all of us who opens their heart as big
know and love.” here and always leads with heart!” as Amy.”
and overall
amazingness. JEN, SR. BRAND MANAGER JUAN, BUSINESS PROCESS IMP. ANLST
NAOMI, INSIGHTS MANAGER
“She makes us all better by being
strong advocate for doing what’s
“Jen has an insatiable “Most importantly, Juan is asking right, actively seeking out data to
inquisitiveness and curiosity that I others how he can help, even with support a case, and using her own
find absolutely infectious.” the many demands on his plate.” moral compass.”
48 | CULTURE CULTURE | 49Our Home is your Home Volunteering
To empower employees to engage in the community, Plum offers paid time off to volunteer,
BRING YOUR LOVED ONES TO WORK DAY provides planned team opportunities for employees to engage each quarter, and encourages
A day where employees were encouraged to bring family, friends, children, partners, or any employees to choose when and where they volunteer their time in the community.
loved one into the Plum office.
NEWCO.
A new event experience where attendees pick companies and mission-based organizations
401
they want to visit, and learn directly from the company’s leadership in the company’s home
environment. 76% of employees
took paid time
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING MATH DAY
off for volunteer
A day session where the Plum R&D team welcomes a group of local high school kids into the
service Total volunteer
office to experience real R&D exercises! hours
50 | CULTURE CULTURE | 51Charitable Contributions Fundraisers
Dollars for Doers MOVEMBER REFUGEE SUPPORT
Campbell Soup Company offers a Plum employees held an auction to raise The team hosted a silent auction to
corporate matching gift program where funds for the Movember Foundation. support the International Rescue
the company matches donations $1 to $1. Employees could bid on a beard, then Committee, and raised $7,628 in donations
choose a facial hair style for an onsite toward the local Bay Area refugee
$8,500
barber to shave (think handlebar resettling program.
mustache, mutton chops, etc).
$1,200 $14,923
Total additional funding
generated through Campbell’s
Dollars for Doer’s Program,
which rewards volunteering Raised for the Raised for the IRC after Plum’s
through grants Movember Foundation matching donation
• Alameda Food Bank: $500
• Convoy of Hope: $2,000
• Covenant House: $1,500
• City Slickers: $4,500
CULTURE | 53Love Bomb
Each week, we end our weekly all-hands meeting with a photo or note from a consumer
– a regular reminder of who we show up for. We’re honored to serve little ones with the
products we make and values we try to model!
My daughter is a
fan of Plum
she can’t talk yet
but she eats it all
-Gigi
I’m loving my
yum yum Plum!
at I can sit up!
high chair now th
cles!
Yay for butt mus
esca
– Romina Franch
Someon
e s n at c h
right out ed these
o f my h a
her Plum nd
organics s! Loves
!! - Adina
a
Plum Organics ‘squishy’ - a
Getting into the month very important part of a
of October by enjoying summery bike ride across the
some banana & pumpkin Oakland/SF Bay Bridge!
baby food from Plum – Michael
Organics!!! – Kayla
54 | CULTURE CULTURE | 55You can also read
