WEBVTT - Businessweek Extra- Mark Smucker 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:06.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. I'm Carol 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:09.200 Masser and I'm Tim Stanovik. Welcome to the Bloomberg Business 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:11.760 Week Extra. It's our weekly podcast bringing you a highlight 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.360 our favorite interview from the week, and this week it's 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:18.480 with JM. Smucker Company, President and CEO Mark Smucker and Carol, 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:20.439 you had the chance to catch up with him, a 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.000 fifth generation member of the family running the company. Yeah. 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.160 It's a company that's been around for more than a century. 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:29.960 It's seen wars, depression, pandemics, oil shocks No. Eleven financial crisis, 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:32.680 seeing women get the right to vote, seeing segregation and 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.360 then the end of segregation. Yeah, I mean, listen, I 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:37.400 love talking to companies like this, to him, because it's 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:39.960 just they've seen so much. They've gone through crisis, they've 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:44.320 had to adapt to changing consumers and changing marketplaces. This 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.159 isn't Smucker's first pan downic. No, it isn't exactly, And 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:49.600 that's why I wanted to talk to him. I wanted 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:52.440 to get his perspective, especially with this current environment that 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:56.680 feels so stressful, feels so divided, and feel so uncertain. 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.560 So that's kind of where we began our conversation check 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:03.320 it out. Can't diminish the significance of this humanitarian crisis 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.440 that we all find ourselves in. But I think we 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.039 do have to try to look forward to the future 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:13.360 and think about how are we as a company helping society. 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:16.840 How are we making society a better place. We obviously 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:20.240 make food, we make things that are uh you know, 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:24.399 make the consumer happy, But we also have a responsibility 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.480 to the communities in which we work as well. So 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:32.680 all of the ways that we can support through through volunteerism, obviously, 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:38.200 UM education, feeding America, all of those things. It is 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:40.480 a it is a dual role that we have in 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:44.000 society today, Is it safe to say a stressful one? 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:46.360 Because I'm curious about what your employees might be asking 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.000 of you today and what you're asking of your leadership 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:53.800 to kind of get everyone through this environment. Well, the 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.600 first thing that we're asking our leadership is to number 0:01:57.640 --> 0:02:02.320 one focus. But also in focusing, we have to take 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:07.200 care of our employees and that starts with UH mental health. 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:11.320 We have made a significant push with our employees to 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:14.639 make sure that they know what resources are available to them. 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.080 It is a trying time, but fundamentally we have to 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:22.640 start with keeping our own house in order, protecting our employees, 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:27.560 which will in turn allow us to do better in business. Well, 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.760 it's interesting too, you know, you say to do better 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.240 in business business right now. I was talking to Richard 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.120 Edelman of the PR firm Edelman and they do a 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.240 trust barometer and they say that right now business was 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:42.119 more trusted than government in eighteen of twenty seven countries. 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:45.600 And the expectations are for ceo s to focus on 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.919 societal engagement with the same rigor, thoughtfulness and energy used 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.760 to deliver on profits. And I'm curious, do you are 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:55.160 you seeing that? Do you see that now? It's kind 0:02:55.160 --> 0:03:01.280 of extra responsibilities in your role as a company, Carol. 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:05.919 We always have taken a view again that that we 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.520 do have a responsibility to society. I think what has 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:12.720 shifted in the last five to ten years is you 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:17.679 do see business leaders being more vocal and taking stances, 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:23.320 not necessarily political stances, but fundamentally it's about doing what's 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:28.280 right and so what even if we choose not to 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:33.720 make a statement publicly, even internally with seven thousand employees, 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:36.920 there is an expectation that we stand up for what 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:42.320 is right, whether that's condemning violence in any form or 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.920 what have you. But we we do see a desire 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:49.440 for employees and the society at large too, to be 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.520 a bit more vocal in those issues. Well, it's interesting 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.040 to this whole focus mark, you know this multiple stakeholders, right, 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.280 it's something that's come out, come out of the Business Roundtable. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:03.680 Your history, and help me if I've gotten the genealogy right. 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.240 I think your grandfather and former CEO of the company, 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:08.840 Paul Smucker, wrote a letter back in the nineteen eighties, 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.320 and then I think it's your great great grandfather JM. Smucker, 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:15.720 you know, laid out these core values, these basic beliefs, 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:19.440 you know, about ethics and quality and people. And it's 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:22.360 just pretty fascinating that it feels like the company in 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.919 many ways was ahead of its time considering the environment 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.480 we're now in, and all of a sudden everyone's talking 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.919 about this. You know, it's really interesting. You said it 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.039 very well. We have been focused on this for decades, 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:40.920 for our entire existence, even when before the Business Roundtable 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:47.720 came out. We talk about our constituencies, right, and the employees, consumers, customers, suppliers, 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:53.640 all of them leading to shareholders and so philosophically, what 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:56.800 we have always said is that if we take care 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:03.200 of all of the other constituents, then automatically the shareholder 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:07.320 will be taken care of. And that is essentially precisely 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:10.719 what the Business Roundtable said. There's no question that social 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:16.360 media and technology has allowed consumers access to a variety 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.440 of different brands and products that they may not have 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:23.720 had access to in the past, and so in this 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:27.839 time when consumers do want to simplify, we have seen 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:32.720 millions of consumers come back to the Folders franchise and 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:36.200 we have actually seen Folders start growing again, which has 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:41.320 been fantastic. We're helping that along with again the advertising 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:45.640 and so forth, but specifically to innovation. It's making sure 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:50.200 that we continue to stay relevant. We are on a 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:54.480 multi year journey with Folders, which starts with the consumer 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:59.720 communication um. Consumers want bolder, darker rows, so we are 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.520 aiding those in a new product line called Folders No Air. 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:09.000 It's constantly paying attention and speaking to our consumers and 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.840 understanding what they want so that we can deliver that 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:15.839 to them. And I'm very pleased with the progress we've made, 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:20.280 so more to come. You mentioned advertising a couple of times, 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.040 I'm curious about social how important is that and kind 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:27.000 of reaching a different audience, maybe a younger audience. UM. 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.320 And I'm also curious about influencers or celebrities, like how 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:32.919 do you guys think about that? You know, take a 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.039 you know, a coker, Pepsi, right, They've often aligned with 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:39.520 a celebrity, take you know, sports, you know gear. UM. 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.640 So I'm just curious how that plays into it. Sure 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:49.600 so folders in particular as it relates to UM influencers 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:56.040 and social across our portfolio. We have leverage those capabilities. 0:06:56.760 --> 0:07:00.880 Keeping these consumers in the franchise is largely ab out targeting. 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:04.760 It's knowing which consumers are new and trying to push 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:10.160 push messaging to them through the social channels. UM. In 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:12.800 terms of celebrities, as you know, we are engaged with 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:16.200 Rachel ray On Nutrition, which is our one of our 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.680 leading dogs brands UM. That has been a very successful 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:26.320 partnership with for us. We also do think about whether 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.960 it's influences or celebrities. Obviously, maybe our pockets aren't as 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:32.920 deep as some of our larger competitors, but we will 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:36.480 continue to look at those opportunities as well. More so 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:39.600 more to come stay tuned, all right, you'll fill us 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.480 in later. Um. You know, and I especially think about 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:46.160 your industry, right is one where winning is a game 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.760 of inches, Right, it's small increments. So I'm curious, you know, 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.520 how do you define and explain innovation to your team 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:59.040 where winning is in these small increments. It's multiple things, 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:01.800 and you're right, is a game of inches, And so 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:06.280 it starts with focusing on the capabilities. That's just the 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:10.080 few sets of capabilities that we need to win. So 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:14.000 it's very simple things like at the store level, whether 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:17.640 that's the digital shelf or the or the real you 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:21.320 know shelf, we have to make sure that our products 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.240 are on the shelf and in stock. It's something that simple. 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:28.360 As it relates to consumers, it's how we communicate them. 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:31.080 Things that we've already touched on in terms of making 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:34.320 sure that we find those those new consumers and re 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:39.400 engage with them. So it's really customer consumer building those 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:43.360 capabilities that are focused on those two constituencies. Hey, how 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:45.840 has digital impacted your world? They've got to ask you 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:48.360 because that's one theme that we've talked about Mark so 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:52.120 much over the last year. Is the digitization or further digitization, 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:54.679 and companies that had strategies that they were maybe going 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:56.439 to implement over the next couple of years, all of 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.960 a sudden they did it overnight. How is that impacting 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.880 your world? Is that part of it as well? Well? Fortunately, 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:05.480 we were set up from an e commerce perspective. We 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:09.480 have several key e commerce customers. We were set up 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.320 well coming into this, and so we've experienced tremendous growth 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:18.000 as consumers continue to do more shopping online. Um. The 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:21.760 digitization that like this, this conversation that we're having is 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:25.520 is clearly something that's new to too many of us. 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:30.920 And then again it is it's it's a combination of reach, 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:35.440 which is mass media, but also targeted marketing as we've 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.240 discussed like social media as well. One thing that's stuck 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:41.040 out with me and it's something I'm kind of applying 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:43.920 to my life. But you said is how to take 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:47.880 work out of the system. Um, And it's interesting that 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:49.720 you talked about this, So how do you take work 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.480 out of the system at Smuckers? Because right I think 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.480 it had said to me. You know, in the past, 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:56.559 you might have had a big meeting and everybody got 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:00.880 to weigh in and you know, being all, you know, 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:04.640 making sure everybody you know collaboration was number one, and 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:09.320 you've taken some of that out right. We there's a 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:12.040 few things, some of which we talked about, like the divestitures, 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:15.480 making very conscious decisions about what's in or out of 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:20.040 our portfolio. Um. But even in terms of how we work, 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:25.560 we have migrated to smaller meetings. We're trying to make 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:29.440 decisions quicker um and then you know, once the decision 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.080 is made, you walk out of the quote virtual meeting 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.760 and you go and you execute. So a focus on 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:43.400 potentially smaller groups, clean, clear decisions and then action has 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:46.959 been really key to our success during this time. How 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:50.800 do you think you know your culture and your strategies 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.880 have changed the most over the last year because of 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:56.839 what we've all been dealing with, what you've been dealing 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:01.280 with as head of a company, you know, I would 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:06.119 just start by saying the keeping the core and protecting 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.439 the core, as we talked about, it starts with me 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:12.360 as a leader. UM. I think the best leaders are 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:16.720 those who are both authentic and and vulnerable and so 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:21.520 bringing our whole whole selves to work. I truly believe that, 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:27.200 and that as myself the leaders on my team, holding 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:31.400 them accountable to behave in that same way sets the 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:35.000 foundation in terms of what's changed. It's everything that we've 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:39.040 already talked about in in terms of being more agile, 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:44.679 focusing and making those focused areas really stick, and not deviating, 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.439 not adding work back to the system. Once we come 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.440 out of this pandemic and can take take a deeper breath, 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.240 how do you make sure that that happens? Because you 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.680 know how it's so easy, Like everybody comes back and 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:58.960 it's like, go, let's have a meeting, let's invite everybody. Like, 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.000 how do you, as a eater make sure like, wait 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:04.480 a minute, we've made some progress here? Well, I think again, 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:07.200 it starts at the top. I have to model that behavior. 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:10.719 My team has to model that behavior. Um, and we 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.520 will do that. It's interesting how many conversations that we've 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:18.480 had just with my own executive team on ensuring that 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:22.960 we continue this behavior coming out of the pandemic. So 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:26.199 i'd be in this we are bloomberg, UM, tell me 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.160 coming out of the pandemic? Is it this year? What 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.319 kind of visibility do you feel like you have about 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:36.720 what the outlook looks like and for your business we 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:40.320 feel really good. I think the changes that we have 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:44.400 been able to make under the cover of the pandemic 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:48.880 have really set us up for success. Um. We've talked 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:53.319 about many of those things, whether it's agility, innovation, UM, 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:57.400 but focusing on maintaining our culture. I really do believe 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.000 that we the fundamentals are the air, and we will 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.840 continue to grow our business off of this new base. 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:06.559 All right, And I gotta ask you the one thing though, 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:08.760 that puts a little bit on edge, makes a little 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:15.560 anxious going forward. What makes me anxious? Yeah? Yeah, Um, 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.880 you know, I think one thing that always keeps us 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:22.200 up at night is our competition. We have fantastic competitors 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:26.160 in this industry, and we are keen to observe them 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:29.920 and learn from them as well. So, UM, responding to 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:34.040 some of our competitive threats is something that we take 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.880 very seriously. I think beyond that, we would like to 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:42.200 all see a world where, um, there is mutual respect 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:45.920 across the board for every human being. And I look 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:49.359 forward to a better world coming out of this pandemic. 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:52.360 That was jam Smucker Company president and cel Mark Smucker, 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.520 and I caught up with him Tim at a Bloomberg 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:58.200 breakaway event, It's was really talking about innovation and culture, 0:13:58.200 --> 0:13:59.880 and so I love these companies that have been around, 0:13:59.880 --> 0:14:02.040 this one for almost a hundred and twenty five years, Like, 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:05.240 what's innovation and culture to a company that kind of 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:07.760 lives in small increments? Right in terms of how they 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:09.640 changed their products. I mean, a company that's been around 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:11.640 for hundred twenty five years, though they've had to innovate. 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.239 I mean, just think about it, not just ingredients, but packaging, 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:16.960 changing consumer taste. The list just goes on and on. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:19.880 You've been listening to Bloomberg Business Week Extra, be sure 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:22.440 to listen to our Bloomberg Business Week Daily Radio show, 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:24.960 airing live Monday through Friday at two pm Wall Street 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.920 Time on Bloomberg Radio. Watches too in our daily broadcast 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.960 on YouTube. Just searched Bloomberg Global News, and catch Tim 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:34.920 on Bloomberg Quick Take Monday through Friday, available Bloomberg dot com, 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:39.320 slash Qt, and streaming platforms like Roku, Apple TV, Samsung TV, 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.760 and more. I'm Carol Masser and I'm Tim Stovik. This 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:43.760 is Bloomberg