It almost doesn't get more Dutch. After all, who wasn't brought up with Verkade's biscuits and chocolate? The brand exists for 135 years and is part of Pladis, a family-owned company with three core brands: Ulker, the leading biscuits and confectionery brand in Turkey and the Middle East; McVitie's, a leading biscuits brand in the UK and Europe, and GODIVA, a leading premium chocolate brand. Other brands like Verkade and BN are more regional.
Arthur Dresen: "Within the Pladis Group we beleive in strong local brands. Our products mean something to people, they are appreciated. Remarkably enough we noticed a penchant for the classics during the lock down period, such as our San Francisco and Maria biscuits. At the same time, we saw reduced sales for Sultanas, which is more of an 'on-the-go' product and often given as a school snack, for example. So although our portfolio shifted, this did cushion the impact of the COVID-19 crisis."
Constant efforts are made to innovate and be efficient. "We are a production company and are always be looking for ways to improve the efficiency at our production facilities, which also often goes hand in hand with product development. That is why we consistently monitor the entire supply chain at our factories in Zaandam and, for example, France - from recipe to packaging. That's also how several of our new products were created, like the Verkade Meesterbaksels and Verkade Minis."
Just as Verkade is fused with the consumer, its employees feel that they are part of the Verkade family. "Verkade still has a culture of a traditional family business, which is also why we fit in so well with Pladis - not a listed company but a multinational with family traits. You can also see it in our people. Many have been employed by the company for a long time and are proud of the Verkade family, proud of our portfolio. When we start looking for new employees, it is very crucial that they fit within the culture.
We chose to partner with Lodiers & Partners for this specific search. I knew Robert Lodiers for some time and our contact always resulted in pleasant conversations about how we look at the world. Lodiers & Partners is an agency that always shows interest, even if you do not need anything. It is not only about what we need but also about what they offer. When we were confronted with the sudden departure of the production manager in Zaandam, we called in Lodiers & Partners. They introduced several candidates for the interim solution that same day.
Candidates who were instantly available and were a match with the company culture. Eventually, the candidate we hired is still employed by Verkade today albeit in a different job. The interim period gave us time to find a permanent replacement from our own employees"
"Thanks to the good relationship we already had and Robert being fully aware of our culture, he was able to respond quickly. Realising an interim solution quickly yet thoroughly has helped us enormously."
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