WJFG Annual Review 2021

Great food, proudly made

Food for Generations

Our 170th year - 2021

We are family owned, values led and take a long-term view This means we look after our businesses and our people We

Food for a better world

Our businesses source, make and deliver great food that meets and exceeds the needs and tastes of our customers We a

We believe that everything is connected A healthier planet creates better ingredients, which create more delicious a

Welcome to Great Food, Proudly Made 2021 This year WJFG celebrated its 170th anniversary - and so much more Flickin

Introduction 8 Welcome from our Chairman Overview from our Chief Exec Our new Values Financial Summary People Updat

Information Technology 48 Health & Safety 52 Business Highlights 56 New launches in 2021 Abel & Cole Belazu Jack

welcome from our chairman

Looking after people has never felt as important as it has this year and the teams across all of our businesses went

welcome from our chairman

and thank you gifts at Christmas and Easter in the post to home addresses Our communities have also benefited from o

I am incredibly humbled by the people across our businesses who are putting every effort into making and delivering g

Nicholas Oughtred Chairman, WJFG, with future Chairwoman Sonya Eastaugh

Overview from our chief Exec

10 INTRODUCTION

This year started out with yet more uncertainty, brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic s second national lockdown

culture, ensuring our colleagues feel valued and cared for, safe at work with all the skills and tools they need to w

underestimated given the challenges we have seen in our businesses throughout the year We still have work to do and

11 INTRODUCTION

During the last couple of years our Group has become more robust, more adept at dealing with challenges quickly and m

James Watson Chief Executive, WJFG

Our Group values needed updating and to help us with this we thought about how we have changed as a Group and the str

Take responsibility and don t be afraid to ask a question We want colleagues to be empowered to improve our business

Try your hardest

Be your best in everything you do Little things Big things Become an expert in your field

We perform better when we re positive For sure, there are times when it s tough but positivity creates a happy envir

LEARN FROM MISTAKES There are bad mistakes and good mistakes Bad mistakes are those that occur when we should know b

IT s IMPORTANT TO CARE

It s essential that you care about our business, our colleagues, our products and our customers this is the foundati

No egos here please We believe in working together because no one person has all the answers - we welcome diversity

This month we filed our accounts at Companies House for the financial year to 24 April 2021 Our sales in the year we

in preparation of the food service businesses returning to higher volumes as restrictions eased Despite the Job Rete

Our Group in numbers

Monica Turner Chief Financial Officer, WJFG

14 INTRODUCTION

15 INTRODUCTION

five great food businesses

Underlying EBITDA

2,000 colleagues

More than 70% increase in our direct-to -consumer sales in FY21

More than 130m Jacksons loaves baked each year

More than 5m jars of Belazu delights proudly made every year

More than 2m Abel & Cole deliveries made each year

More than 1 2 the UK s Michelin star restaurants proudly served each year

More than 1,500 double decker bus loads of veg prepped each year

4,000 Christmas and Easter gifts sent to colleagues

156,000 university grants given to dependants of colleagues

170 years of great food proudly made

Up 1 3m from FY20

75 new product launches

Looking after our colleagues

We care about our colleagues and really want them to feel part of our family business to enjoy coming to work, to f

I ve been in post as Group People Director for just over a year and have seen such a lot of positive progress across

changes which help us in our drive to be diverse and inclusive businesses We have provided training for the Group Ma

Update from our People Team

Clare Fynney People Director, WJFG

18 PEOPLE UPDATE

pay for certain roles, looked at ways to improve our recruitment processes and onboarding practices, and also been re

Like many businesses, we ve faced challenges with the labour shortage this year but we ve been really creative with o

19 PEOPLE UPDATE

we have over 2,000 colleagues in 19 locations

WJFG Europe Our dedicated colleagues in Murcia, Spain, have been sourcing the finest fresh produce Spain has to offer

Our Gender PAy Our overall mean pay gap across the Group for FY20 21 is -10 10% which compares with -2 89% in FY19 20

20 PEOPLE UPDATE

We ve been working hard to increase apprenticeship take-up rates across our businesses, and as part of this we have 1

qualification and we have also been able to gift some of our apprenticeship fund to another smaller company Somethi

We are proud of the progress we have made this year including our Partnership with Blueprint for all, which included

21 PEOPLE UPDATE

Celebrating our highest satisfaction score in 10 years

In April we asked colleagues to take part in our Employee Engagement Survey and were delighted to see the overall Gr

Our Employee survey said

of people from across the Group completed the survey this is up from 55 9% in 2019 Only 23% of colleagues told us

22 PEOPLE UPDATE

BELAZU Highest satisfaction levels in the business Response rates up dramatically to 78 9% from 56 5% Satisfaction In

JacksonS Highest scores since 2017 Response rates up to 60 8% from 55 3% Satisfaction Index up to 66 8% from 58 1% Bi

Abel & Cole Highest response rates in the business Response rates up 81 9% from 79 0% Satisfaction Index up to 73 2%

Wellocks Biggest increase in response rates Response rates up to 59 2% from 27 0% Satisfaction Index increase up to 6

MyFresh Biggest increase in scores across the business Response rates up to 71 6% from 61 9% Satisfaction Index massi

23 PEOPLE UPDATE

We want to have an amazing culture and in 2021 we have worked our socks off to work towards this goal We introduced

Claire Simpson Head of Culture and Comms, WJFG

24 PEOPLE UPDATE

Our monthly eJournal is a really uplifting magazine sent out to colleagues each month, positively highlighting our co

Early on in the pandemic the Trust funded Covid testing of colleagues to ensure people were safe from the virus

This includes Our new products, which always come to market after teams of people have learned from mistakes, tri

We want our colleagues to feel valued and cared for and to help us with this we have revamped the support offered by

25 PEOPLE UPDATE

Other initiatives supported by our Employee Benefits Trust include flu jabs, sending apples to our colleagues at site

26 PEOPLE UPDATE

Through our employee engagement survey, our colleagues have told us they enjoy getting together with colleagues from

27 PEOPLE UPDATE

28 PEOPLE UPDATE

29 PEOPLE UPDATE

Superstar

Polygon

Polygon

Polygon

Polygon

This December we held our first WJFG Superstar Awards to celebrate colleagues from across our Group who have gone abo

30 PEOPLE UPDATE

31 PEOPLE UPDATE

32 PEOPLE UPDATE

Rising Superstar Awards For our colleagues who are going from strength to strength in our businesses Well done to A

Long-served Superstar Awards For our colleagues with more than 10 years service and continue to shine brightly Cong

Chairman s Superstar Chosen by our Chairman Nicholas Oughtred Well done to Abel & Cole colleague Nick Cannell

Values Awards For colleagues demonstrating the Group values of Try Your Hardest, Play Your Part, Learn from Mistakes

33 PEOPLE UPDATE

Overall Superstar Awards For colleagues who have simply knocked our socks off this year time and time again Congratu

CEO s Superstar Chosen by our CEO James Watson Congratulations to Jacksons colleague Sarah Kennedy

Following an internal review of our CSR work, in 2021 we pledged to deliver on seven key sustainability targets to en

Food for a better world

Emissions One of the first things we did on the emissions target was to offset any emissions linked with our operatio

renewable electricity and gas for a whole year * As well as reducing our own carbon emissions, we re helping our cust

36 GOOD BUSINESS

To source and supply the finest food and ingredients, responsibly and with care for generations

1 Emissions To achieve net zero emissions across the Group s operations by 2030 and our entire supply chain by 2040

2 Plastic Packaging To join the UK Plastics Pact and work towards refillable solutions

WMF

3 Traceability By 2030 we will be able to trace 100% of ingredients or products over which we have direct control ba

4 Food waste To cut food waste by half by 2030

5 Labelling 100% of our consumer products will be accredited to standards that help consumers make healthier and mor

6 Community support Prioritise the funds, spare food, knowledge and people power available to us to make the biggest

WMF

7 Fair Remuneration To pay all our employees a living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation by 2030

Traceability By 2030, we will be able to trace 100% of ingredients or products over which we have direct control back

37 GOOD BUSINESS

Plastic We re aligning with the UK plastic pact which has four targets to achieve by 2025: Eliminate problematic or

Food waste We ve set a target to halve our food waste across group by 2030 We ve focused on reducing our operational

Since May this year, Abel & Cole has donated 51 tonnes of surplus food to local good causes, including 33 tonnes of f

38 GOOD BUSINESS

Labelling We want to help people who buy our food to make healthier choices for themselves and the planet by improvi

We chose seven hero targets to focus on this year, but we know there s so much more being done and to do This year w

39 GOOD BUSINESS

Community Giving

We believe a community should be a better place for having one of our businesses in it and each of our businesses wor

40 GOOD BUSINESS

This year we will give 135k to charity and, covid allowing, we re aiming to complete 675 volunteer days

41 GOOD BUSINESS

community project in malawi

In 2015 we started a five-year project to provide training and education to farmers and communities in one of the poo

Looking back to early 2015, when this project was just an idea in the heads of a bunch of people, we could not have i

Our last trip out to Malawi

On our last trip to Malawi in November 2021, after driving for an hour on winding dirt roads in the middle of rural M

Cintia Martinez Project Manager

What we ve achieved:

420,676 trees planted

1,000 highly efficient stoves built

11,988 compost heaps made

4 schools fitted with solar lights

4,500 people to benefit from the project

36,771,502 Malawian Kwacha turnover through diversification

10,408,673 Malawian Kwacha turnover from crop sales

55,700 basin beds made, planted and organically

cook With this new stove technology, her livelihood has improved hugely as she only needs to go once a week, and als

organically Each and every farmer states the food is more tasty and is more resistant against diseases We have seen

They dream big and have clear objectives Mwana Alirenji project has given them the tools, the knowledge and the conf

Information Technology

Technology is such an exciting and ever-changing part of our business that it s safe to say there is never a dull day

The need to further progress our technology continued this year and I m pleased to say there have been some great str

On the project front, we have seen a number of larger scale IT changes delivered successfully over the year Abel & C

new tech to support our growth

Paul Nicholson Chief Information Officer

50 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

year to ensure the business was ready to start their new contract with the Co-Op It s the largest systems project th

For me, 2021 has been a year where we have moved the IT agenda further forward than ever before and I can see 2022 be

51 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Health & Safety

When it comes to health and safety it s very simple; our colleagues must go home safe at the end of every working day

Colleague safety is a priority for our Group and subsidiary senior leaders and managers within the business; it s par

SAFETY IS A PRIORITY

Health & Safety

John McPhillips Group Sustainability & Transformation Director

54 HEALTH & SAFETY

Embedding health and safety in our culture, right from the very top of the organisation has been a priority for us ov

A continued focus on accident severity and minimising lost time days

Polygon

Mitigating operational road risks to ensure driver safety

Polygon

Ensuring colleagues working from home have the necessary equipment and set up to do so safely

Polygon

Standardising contractor controls permits to work to ensure consistency across group

Polygon

Improving our safety culture by implementing safety walk guidance, encouraging safety committee participation, contin

Polygon

Re-introduce on-site Independent Safety Audits that were suspended in person during Covid

Polygon

Increase our Occupational health provision

Polygon

Keeping our people safe during the pandemic

Keeping our people safe was one of our guiding principles throughout the pandemic and all of our businesses and colle

our colleagues peace of mind about coming into the workplace We had a dedicated Incident Management Team which met w

55 HEALTH & SAFETY

this year s exciting innovation

Our colleagues have been busy coming up with new food for our customers - and they don t just taste great, many have

abel & cole highlights

Business highlights

Boom Awards Winners In July, our colleagues at Abel & Cole celebrated winning both the Best Organic Retailer and Best

58 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

supporting Blue Print for all This year, Abel & Cole s Equality & Inclusivity Committee has written an Anti-Racism Ch

ride the change In October, a team of Abel & Cole colleagues, plus Group Office colleague Rachael Andrews, braved the

59 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

belazu awarded b corp

Business highlights

Belazu is a Certified B Corp Being part of the global B-Corp community means Belazu join Abel & Cole and other busin

and The winners are Belazu s Tomato and Balsamic Ketchup enjoyed success in the condiments category of The Grocer

They launched their first ever multi-media advertising campaign - Add Drama to Every Bite - and more recently gave th

Happy 30th Birthday to Belazu

Belazu s creative team have also been busy this year

60 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

People gold standard Well done to our Belazu colleagues who have worked really hard to retain their Investors in Peop

Belazu Virtual Masterclasses Innovation Chef, Henry, and Product Expert, Bob, delighted Belazu fans throughout the ye

Belazu Investment in growth Last month our colleagues celebrated the opening of a new Belazu warehouse The warehous

Belazu BRC Belazu were awarded an A grade in their BRC Audit this year

61 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

JAcksons win co-op

Business highlights

Our bakery colleagues celebrated winning a major new contract with the Co-Op this year to make all own-label Co-Op br

62 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Jacksons of yorkshire return to the Great yorkshire show

CORBY With great teamwork and determination, our Corby colleagues have massively increased volumes and done a great j

BRC This year Jacksons Trinity Street site in Hull achieved AA in a BRC audit and Jacksons Derringham Street bakery

63 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

developing exciting new products

Business highlights

This year, our MyFresh team has focused on developing new and exciting products and as a result have taken on a numbe

64 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

MyView Team In Summer, MyFresh launched its new colleague committee named MyView The team is made up of colleague re

Hot meals MyFresh has been making free hot meals for colleagues using surplus veg from the site The project, support

MyFresh BRC MyFresh achieved a AA result in their most recent BRC Audit

65 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

60 years of wellocks

Business highlights

This year Wellocks celebrated their 60th year in business - and they did it with a bang In July, the business introd

66 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

a PAssion for good food This year, Wellocks rolled out its food taster classes for colleagues The classes, run by Le

Chef ambassador Wellocks is not only passionate about delivering top-quality produce, but also about providing custom

WEllocks BRC Wellocks were awarded a AA result in their recent BRC audit

67 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating 170 years of Great food

Great food, proudly made

In September we celebrated 170 years of the William Jackson Food Group From small beginnings with a grocery shop in

Our founder, William JAckson

Built with In5.

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