Our purpose: Lifting the vibe on plant-based eating for a happier, healthier world
Here at Raglan Food Co, we’re excited to be part of the growing movement towards a plant-based diet. We see this as a necessary shift for the wellbeing of the planet and an essential part of solving climate change. We’re doing our bit by making it possible for people to access products that are delicious, high quality, sustainably packaged, and with no animals involved!
Our Product Philosophy
The reason and right for Raglan Food Co to exist is because from the very start we made the best product possible, in a category with an existing customer need.
RFC defines ‘the best’ as products that are natural and sustainable, 100% plant-based, require as little as possible ingredients and processing, and provide excellent taste and quality of products and flavours that widely appeal to our customers. We focus on doing the basics really well, rather than getting distracted by niche offerings.
Our product philosophy extends further into packaging, which includes primary packaging materials such as jars, yoghurt pottles, wrappers, labels, etc. as well as secondary packaging such as cartons, pallet wraps, and barcode stickers. We use the most functional packaging to make sure our quality product is matched with quality, environmentally sustainable packaging.
Our Operating Philosophy
Our operating philosophy covers all aspects of the supply chain; from sourcing of raw materials, the production process, to dispatch and distribution to stores and customers.
On the supply chain & production side, the challenge for any food company serious about making the best product of its kind is to recreate on a industrial scale the chef’s devotion to taste and quality, while achieving cost efficiencies that enable wide distribution.
In an attempt to meet this challenge, we follow the five operational principles:
- Design for simplicity, strive for efficiency.
- Develop products with our operating capabilities in mind from the start. Food technologists work closely with operation & production managers.
- Develop long-term relationships with suppliers and contractors, always put quality first (above on-time delivery and low cost). The cost of low-quality raw materials that create problems during production usually far outweighs the savings.
- Don’t settle – constantly improve how we do things. Perceive problems, and take action to solve them. Never tolerate them. Build a culture where it is OK to make mistakes, but unacceptable to not learn from them.
- Measure what matters. Data is important, but only where it adds clarity and assists decision making, not for its own sake.
When it comes to reaching our customers, we seek to diversify our distribution as much as possible, including direct-to-customer, food-service and export customers to reduce our dependency on traditional distribution channels for food products.
Our Brand & Customer Service Philosophy
RFC’s brand image is closely tied to its values of sharing a light-hearted, authentic and genuine care for our environment and communities. We are a conscious organisation that speaks to what conscious consumers care about.
When dealing with customers and stakeholders, we’re kind, generous and reasonable. We focus on building long-term relationships and earn trust by remaining in integrity with our values, and do what we say we’ll do. When things go wrong, or we receive a customer complaint, we go over and above to fix it.
Raglan Food Co strives to balance the funding of environmental & social activities with the desire to continue in business long term. It views profit as necessary but not the end goal. It’s a private, NZ-owned company and has no desire to maximise profit as the end goal, but strives to fulfil its purpose and stay true to its values.
Our Management & People Philosophy
Raglan Food Co is made up of a bunch of humans who are capable, caring, and committed to the organisation. Our management style is to empower people to act independently and trust them to do a great job.
Micro-managing doesn’t benefit anyone, and we believe that people work at their best when they know the goal of the organisation and feel empowered to take ownership of their roles.
We aim for a management structure that is flat, inclusive and fair. We have a Fair Wage policy for our starting rate (10% above minimum wage), intended to afford a decent quality of life at full-time employment, and a wage cap for senior management and leadership positions to ensure that no one in the company can be paid out excessive wages that create obscene income gaps and a sense of inequality between the production team and leadership staff.
We’re all about
We attract & retain great people by ‘lifting the vibe’ – being a great place to work, with an atmosphere that is welcoming, supportive, purpose-driven and fun.
Environmental & Social Philosophy
We want to leave the planet better than we found it. The world is facing a climate emergency thanks to decades of unimpeded, irresponsible growth, ever since the industrial revolution.
We’ve been committed since 2018 to offsetting & minimising our total carbon footprint through our Carbon Zero certification. And as a Certified B Corporation, we are using business as a tool for good to have a net positive impact on the communities and environments we operate in – you can view our Doing Good projects here. We are resourceful and innovative, and actively work to reduce waste – for example our Reforged Pohutukawa Braziers are made out of our empty coconut cream drums!
We actively care for Papatūānuku (Mother Earth) and all life on it.
