For a snack and 5 questions with... Nuria Pizán from SanLucar

How can the balancing act between profit and social responsibility be achieved? And how do you become a real love brand? The answers to these questions (and many more) are available once a month in the Brotzeit interview, the Kitchen Stories business questionnaire.

• This time, answer Nuria Pizán from SanLucar.
• ‍As Brand & Creative Director, she is responsible for SanLucar's global brand strategy and brand communication.
• By the way, your favorite snack is Mezze plate.

In the last 2 years, there has been a lot of talk about how the changing consumer behavior of end consumers is affecting the food sector and how the latter has to adapt. It is time to hear the other side: What topics are on the mind of a company that has set itself the task of bringing natural joy to the world?

Healthy diet from childhood: It is therefore very important for us that children eat healthily. Childhood lays the foundation for lifelong eating habits. And a healthy diet contributes to a better quality of life. Covid played into our cards, because since then people have been eating more healthily in order to protect themselves.

Food prices are often too cheap: Fruit and vegetables are among the best foods and are much more environmentally friendly to produce than meat or many processed foods. In my opinion, it is generally too cheap. There is a great deal of effort behind growing fruit and vegetables and involves a lot of manual work. This requires a great deal of traditional and modern know-how and is only made possible by the passion of many people. A pineapple, for example, ripens for 12 - 14 months (!) and is continuously cared for and maintained during this time. It must then be brought here using sophisticated fresh food logistics so that it is ideally ripe on consumers' plates. When I see in the handout a pineapple from Costa Rica for 1.49 euros a kilo or - worse still - bananas for 0.88 cents a kilo, then I lack appreciation for this delicious fruit and the work of many committed people behind it.

Critically question food packaging? Yes, but: There is a lot of talk about reducing plastic in fruit & vegetable packaging. Of course, we too have been working on this continuously for many years and have already been able to save hundreds of tons of plastic in recent years. Especially since we also sell 66% of our fruit unpackaged. However, plastic is the material that best keeps fruit & vegetables fresh and thus helps to avoid food waste. I also see many other product segments where you could really avoid plastic in packaging. I always wonder why there isn't such an intensive discussion about reducing plastic...

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There is a well-known miracle cure in dynamic markets: The strong brand. As Brand & Creative Director, you and your team will work together to bring the SanLucar brand to life. What qualities does it take to become a real love brand?

A brand must understand its consumers and address the child in them. A brand must be likeable, create trust and offer emotional added value. Rational product benefits are ultimately interchangeable. When we ask consumers what they associate with SanLucar, it often comes up: palm trees, sun, beach, sea, vacation. That makes me happy, because holidays are the best time of the year to spend with your favorite people. And SanLucar spreads this relaxed, carefree holiday feeling. There couldn't be any better emotional added value for a brand. Especially in our turbulent times.

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In addition to sustainability, responsibility also plays an important role. How can companies like SanLucar, especially in price-driven markets, manage the balancing act between profit and social responsibility and find a credible approach?

We are in the fortunate position that our brand has found many real fans over the years. They are happy to pay a little more for our fruit because they appreciate our good taste and reliable quality. This allows us to finance many social projects on our fincas worldwide and pay our employees fairly. Treating people with respect is extremely important to us.

With over 100 international creative awards, you can certainly be described as creative. Is there still a brilliant idea that you would have liked to come up with yourself?

Oh, there are so many wonderful ideas from great creatives. Well, to be honest, I don't even know where to start. Apple, Nike, Adidas, Mercedes Perhaps I would have liked to come up with the idea of inventing the iPhone. This has real relevance for all of us and has changed the world. Or even Google Maps... I couldn't live without Google Maps anymore.

One last question: What is the most magical place in the world for you — and what is there to eat there?

This is the place where love lives, where there is always peace, everyone is happy and of course there are crispy, sweet, thoroughly red apples to eat.

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