We are pleased to have unveiled a new corporate purpose – Making Better Happen™. It is the result of an inclusive process involving more than 1,000 employees across the world. At the same time, we have identified a set of Better Behaviors and launched a new visual identity that reflects the thinking behind our purpose.
First choice
About a year ago, AAK agreed that there was a need for a unifying purpose to facilitate the delivery of the company’s vision to become the first choice for plant-based oil solutions in the sectors where it operates. The need for a unifying and mobilizing purpose was identified as a key strategic enabler for delivering against this vision and AAK colleagues were asked to contribute their insights to inform this process.
During the internal process, involving contributions from more than 1,000 employees, representing all regions, functions and industries, it became clear that AAK’s commercial philosophy is based on the simple goal of doing things better. AAK collaborates closely with its customers to understand what better means for them and how it can deliver on that – for example, by making their products better tasting, healthier, more sustainably sourced and more efficient to produce. Another finding was that AAK’s way of doing business is geared towards making things happen. AAK’s new purpose brings together these two findings – doing better + making things happen – as Making Better Happen™.
“Our purpose – Making Better Happen – is all about the difference we want to make”, said Johan Westman, President and CEO. “We choose to be a purpose-driven business in the belief that long-term, sustainable growth goes hand-in-hand with making a positive impact. Central to AAK is a preference for the humbleness of ‘better’ in contrast to the boastfulness of ‘best’. Best breeds complacency, while better is a journey of continuous improvement. In fact, AAK truly believes that better has the potential to be more ambitious than best.”
To guide AAK colleagues on the journey towards our purpose we have defined a set of four Better Behaviors – We are passionate about Making Better Happen, We are agile by intent, We are accountable for our actions, We are collaborative by choice. Our four Better Behaviors describe how we at AAK choose to do business. They capture our unique way of working and connect each and every member of the AAK family around the world. They determine how we climb the path towards our purpose and how we deliver against our strategy. By applying all four Better Behaviors simultaneously better decisions are made and better actions taken. By living all four Better Behaviors we will be Making Better Happen.
New visual identity
Making Better Happen also inspired us to evolve our visual identity. At the heart of the new look is the Better Impact Ripple, which represents AAK’s impact and influence throughout the whole value chain – from better and more sustainable sourcing to better end-benefits for customers and their brands. The ripples flow outwards, with AAK as their source, signaling the value we are adding at each stage of the process, and communicating that Making Better Happen is a journey, not a destination. In proud recognition of our heritage, the AAK logo remains unchanged, as does our long-term association with the color blue. There is a humbleness in the core elements of our visual identity that mirrors the humbleness of better in contrast to the boasting of best.
Whilst we are humble, we are certainly not shy. Our people are full of passion and our solutions create a pride that needs to be expressed. Visually, we are expressing this through a style of photography that celebrates both passion and collaboration, through the addition of a palette of strong accent colors that draw their inspiration from the authenticity of our raw materials, and through use of new typefaces that add character and emphasis to the messages and texts we write.
“For our customers, Making Better Happen is about enabling them to be successful in a better way by working in close collaboration with us”, said Johan Westman. “This is reflected in our continued commitment to be the Co-Development Company.”
