Sarah Ludmer is the chief wellbeing and sustainable business officer at WK Kellogg Co.
Earlier this month, WK Kellogg Co. shared details of its new sustainable business strategy, coined “Feeding Happiness.” The announcement came nearly a year after the former Kellogg. Co. first announced a plan to split into cereal company WK Kellogg Co. and snacking company Kellanova.
“Feeding Happiness” reflects and aligns with the vision of founder W.K. Kellogg, an early conservationist and proponent of well-being. The strategy is a three-pronged approach centered on the intent to “Make Eating Well Easy,” “Help Kids Be Their Best” and “Better Our Communities.” Among other goals, the framework is designed to increase the number of people reached through feeding initiatives, provide children with learning and play opportunities and advance the company's science-based sustainability targets.
Recently, Progressive Grocer talked with Sarah Ludmer, chief wellbeing and sustainable business officer at Battle Creek, Mich.-based WK Kellogg Co., about the genesis of the strategy and how the company is bringing it to life with stakeholders including grocers, shoppers and community members.
Progressive Grocer: How does a holistic approach inform your Feeding Happiness strategy?
Sarah Ludmer: It’s 100% of us as an independent 118-year old startup. We joke about that, but with our split, the overall sustainable business strategy of "Better Days" stayed with Kellanova. That left us to figure out our sustainable business strategy.
WK was one of the first philanthropists, environmental stewards and well-being visionaries, and the food he made and how he shared it with the world is what we are now trying to think through. The problems that exist in hunger, the planet and health are interconnected, and we don’t want to look at them as siloed. When we are doing regenerative agriculture, for example, we want to be sure it’s thinking through nutritional quality, too.
PG: How did you come up with the name?
SL: One thing I loved, and the whole leadership team loved, was when we were thinking through words and what they mean, a lot of programs are outcome-based, but we wanted a word that showed action. You have to feed it every single day, and that’s what we want our employees thinking. So when they are creating food, changing a line at a plant or something else, they think, "What is the impact on people and planet?” It is fundamental and action-oriented.