To our suppliers, customers, consumers and my colleagues here at Nestlé,
Easter is always a busy time for us but last weekend was one of the most unusual Bank Holiday weekends that any of us will ever remember.
If you are one of those who worked through the Easter break whether in the NHS, in transport or here in food and drink you have my complete admiration and gratitude for your dedication. Thank you.
There are challenges for all industries at the moment but I want to reassure you that Nestlé is overcoming those challenges and continues to supply the nation with food and drink.
We have teams working around the clock across supply, manufacturing and distribution who are keeping our factories operating and our products on the shelves. It is a credit to our brilliant people that we continue to deliver our very best even in this moment of crisis.
The safety and welfare of our people remains our primary concern and we have issued a joint communication with our Trade Unions GMB and Unite to that effect. I thank them for their important collaboration at this time.
Elsewhere in our business I have colleagues who are working from kitchen tables, back bedrooms and living rooms, while many are also providing childcare and home schooling at the same time as delivering crucial support to our frontline teams.
There is a wonderful spirit of togetherness that exists even while we are required to be apart and it is my privilege to be working with people who are making things happen in difficult circumstances and solving new problems every day.
Since the beginning of this crisis we have been inundated with requests to support good causes across the country and have established a team of people dedicated to responding to as many of those requests as possible. We are initially donating around £4m of products to the NHS as well as other key workers and foodbanks. The total includes almost a million cups of coffee, more than 250,000 bottles of water and nearly three million confectionery products.
We are supporting foodbanks across the country with additional products through our partnership with Fareshare in the UK and FoodCloud in Ireland and we have been contributing to the food packages sent to 1.5m vulnerable people identified by the UK Government.
Last month we announced a global partnership with The Red Cross which included a CHF 10 million donation for deployment in countries where it is most needed and we are matching any donation made to the Red Cross by our employees. Everybody here at Nestlé is also encouraged to use their two days of annual volunteering leave to help people on the ground in our communities.
As always, I am proud to work for Nestlé and I am equally proud to be a part of our wider food industry which is proving, now more than ever, its skill, its professionalism and just how important it is to the success of our nations.
I offer my thanks, once again, for the incredible hard work that is going on across the UK & Ireland and I send my best wishes to all of you at this uncertain time.
Please stay safe.
Stefano Agostini