As the Senior Project Manager for the Groceries category at Ooni, how do you ensure the products you manage align with the company’s sustainability and regenerative agriculture goals? Claire Grant, Senior Project Manager, Groceries, Ooni Pizza Ovens: Sustainability is a consideration at every stage of our development process. Whether it’s a new brand to add to our D2C shop, a new Ooni product
to develop or a new Licensed Partnership, we make sure to review the impact we are having and how we can positively reduce it. Our Regenerative Business Team works hard to ensure all employees are aware of our company ambition and provide training and support to make sure we fully understand the changes required to meet our goals. It’s worth noting that our ambition is not only on new products but continually reviewing our existing range and working out where we can make change for good.
Your experience ranges from chocolate to wellness, and now pizza. How does your background in product development influence your current work with Ooni’s sustainable product lines? CG: My experience has been broad for sure but ultimately the underpinning competencies of product development and project management can be transferred across categories. One key thread that is consistent across all categories is consumer interest in ingredient quality and as well as the growing consumer demand for more
Kate Upshon, Head of Regenerative Business, Ooni Pizza Ovens: Our biggest, boldest ambition is the
regenerative business ambition itself. This ambition guides and frames all our activities and has several goals and targets being developed underneath it. The partnership with ADM and our investment to support their regenerative agriculture programme contributes to a number of these targets which, together, set the bar for Ooni to first seek to first eliminate our negative impacts as a business and, in time, deliver positive and/ or restorative impacts. This includes our climate ambitions, and all our supply chain targets too which encompass the impacts of our supply chains including on water, energy, pollution, human rights and the overall health of ecosystems.
sustainable options. Whether it’s plant-based chocolate, zero plastic personal care or a flour that supports regenerative farming – the common goal is the same.
What is Ooni Pizza Ovens’ overarching regenerative business goal, and how does the partnership with farmers and the focus on regenerative agriculture fit into this vision?
Can you describe any specific challenges you’ve encountered in implementing regenerative agriculture practices within Ooni’s supply chain, and how you’ve worked to overcome them? KU: Ooni pays a premium to source flour from this programme which we consider to be an important element of support we can provide as a buyer of this ingredient to support the overall aims of the programme. As the programme matures, we are very keen to learn from ADM what they are hearing from the farmers in the programme about any challenges they experience alongside the benefits. From what we’ve heard anecdotally so far, the benefits seem to outweigh any challenges.
Can you share some insights into how Ooni Pizza Ovens’ technology complements the use of regenerative agriculture-based ingredients in creating a more sustainable pizza experience? KU: We believe our ovens offer an excellent pizza experience, whatever the setting! What we are looking to achieve when it comes to the use of ingredients that support regenerative agriculture is enabling our customers to enjoy the best possible homemade pizza, while reducing the impact on the environment in doing so.
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