The three material topics related to consumers – (i) product quality and safety; (ii) product and service innovation; and (iii) affordable products – as well as their respective impacts, risks and opportunities1, are indissociable dimensions of how we manage our business. Additionally, these dimensions are strongly interconnected, as they influence consumer trust, shape their choices and sustain the viability of our activity in the short, medium and long term.
The actions defined for each material topic result from an ongoing assessment of risks, impacts and opportunities. This assessment is complemented by technical analyses, input from specialised teams, trend monitoring and consumer listening mechanisms. This process enables us to determine the most appropriate and proportionate type of intervention – preventive, corrective or improvement-driven. The actions described in the following sections reflect this approach and are presented alongside their respective annual progress metrics:
Product quality and safety – through ensuring rigorous safety and hygiene standards, transparent and continuous improvement processes (monitored through internal and external audits, laboratory analyses and compliance rates), as well as the selection of healthier ingredients.
Product and service innovation – aims at diversifying options and responding to specific consumer needs, including dietary restrictions, as well as improving nutritional profiles, with progress assessed through the number of reformulations and product launches.
Affordable products – implies offering quality products at competitive prices and with balanced nutritional profiles to the greatest number of people, monitored through metrics such as promotional campaigns and engagement mechanisms.
We place product quality, safety and consumer trust at the centre of our priorities, seeking to maintain affordable prices as possible without compromising quality standards and ensuring the continuous improvement of our assortment, even in contexts of economic pressure.
In the event of negative impacts, we apply remediation processes described in the section “Correction of impacts and channels for consumers to express concerns”. These processes, intended to be swift, effective and proportionate to the impact, include accessible complaint channels, internal investigation and corrective measures, and may result in product recalls, replacements, refunds or reformulations, targeted campaigns, assortment reviews or price adjustments. The effectiveness of these actions is monitored, for example, through laboratory analyses and audits that help identify opportunities for internal improvement, within the value chain or across the product portfolio2.
Risk management for consumers is based on assessing and anticipating situations that may compromise product safety, accessibility or nutritional profile. To this end, we strengthen audits and controls, expand reformulation projects and intensify collaboration with suppliers. Trends in healthy consumption, increasing transparency demands from consumers and the diversity of lifestyles provide opportunities for us to innovate and create value3.
We have internal policies, communication criteria and supply chain control systems that in some cases exceed legal requirements and incorporate sectoral best practices, aiming to avoid that our practices to cause or contribute to negative impacts. We maintain active monitoring processes and communicate transparently any serious occurrences and related decision-making4.
The management of these topics is ensured by specialised and multidisciplinary teams (food quality and safety, product development and innovation, nutrition, marketing, supplier management) and by ongoing investments in training, technology, monitoring systems and independent audits, with periodic reporting to top management. These resources guarantee the consistent and effective implementation of the necessary actions and reinforce consumer trust. These processes are coordinated by the Group’s functional departments.5
Additionally, we participate in sectoral and multistakeholder initiatives related to food and non-food safety, nutrition and sustainable retail practices, contributing to the evolution of standards, keeping track of scientific and regulatory developments and integrating learnings that strengthen both the sector and our own practices, as described in “Partnerships and support”.
1 Know more about the impacts, risks, and opportunities related to these three material topics in “Consumers and End Users”.
2 The accomplishment of opportunities follows an innovation logic (ideation, pilot phase, implementation), with consumer impact criteria aligned with the material impacts (affordability, nutritional profile, safety) and respective metrics.
3 Our operations depend on external factors that directly influence consumers’ experience and well-being – including regulatory changes, purchasing power dynamics, trust in the safety and quality of our products, nutritional expectations, healthy consumption trends and the reliability of the value chain. By assessing these dependencies in terms of potential loss, deterioration or change that they may create in company performance and objectives, we are also able to anticipate material risks for the Group. For this reason, we integrate these elements into our corporate risk management process, ensuring early identification, monitoring and appropriate responses. For further details, please refer to item 53. “Details and Description of the Major Economic, Financial and Legal Risks to which the Company is Exposed in Pursuing Its Business Activity”.
4 Serious incidents are those which, in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, involve significant violations of consumers’ human rights – including serious harm to health or safety, irreversible impacts, heightened risks for vulnerable groups, or situations where remediation cannot fully restore the affected rights. This approach is aligned with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Principal Adverse Impact indicator 14 integrated into the EU ESRS requirements. Our commitment to human rights relevant to consumers includes product safety and health protection, access to truthful and adequate information (including appropriate labelling), privacy and personal data protection, the implementation of responsible and non-discriminatory communication practices, and access to consumer complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms, in line with our Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct. Occurrences and interactions with consumers potentially related to the above policies were recorded and analysed in the period under review. Screening and assessment were conducted in accordance with the applicable internal procedures and, where relevant, with reference to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, and the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Based on the information available and the analysis carried out, no confirmed cases of human rights violations relevant to consumers were identified during the reporting period. Nevertheless, where considered necessary or appropriate, corrective and/or improvement measures were implemented, including enhanced consumer information and process adjustments, with subsequent follow-up.
5 For more information on the composition and responsibilities from the functional departments of our corporate centre and their relation to the corporate risks identified whose reporting is conducted directly and regularly to the Group Executive Board, please refer to sub‑item 21. “Organisational Charts Concerning the Allocation of Powers Between the Various Corporate Boards, Committees and/or Departments Within the Company, Including Information on Delegating Powers, Particularly as Regards the Delegation of the Company’s Daily Management”; and item 53. “Details and Description of the Major Economic, Financial and Legal Risks to which the Company is Exposed in Pursuing Its Business Activity”.