Amy’s Kitchen: Using purpose and values to grow with soul
Our first step working with Amy’s Kitchen was to codify their DNA into their purpose and values. That was over 7 years ago - today I witness these values being lived and used more than any other business. They are a code by which all decisions are made - implicitly and explicitly. Within has been privileged to be their partner on this journey all these years.
“The work we did with Within has had a major positive impact on the company. Much more than I could have imagined.”
Andy Berliner - Founder
“Are you hungry? What can I cook for you?”
I remember these were Rachel’s first words when I stepped inside the door of a modest white ranch house outside of Petaluma in Northern California. This is the home of the Berliner family, the founders of Amy’s Kitchen - a brand I’ve loved and admired for years. My first experience of the family demonstrated to me that I was meeting people whose business truly reflected their own values.
At Within we are passionate about food brands - especially those that are working purposefully to transform their supply chain. From global FMCG/CPG companies like Mondelēz International and URC, to local brands scaling up - like Colorado’s Hoplark and Montana’s Bridger Brewing Co - our experience of working in the sector offers our clients the opportunity to learn from our global perspective as they shape the business they believe in.
Amy’s is a remarkable company that has grown from a single product made in Rachel’s kitchen to a certified B-Corp with a range of organic, vegetarian food made from scratch and enjoyed all over the world. The business has now branched out to also include Amy’s Drive Thru restaurants across California.
Why would such a successful business need Within?
Sitting with Berliners to hear their story it became clear that codifying their DNA was not only about ensuring the legacy of their business long into the future, but about having a single point of reference that could guide all leaders and team members as the company continued to scale. As a family business, culture is critical to how the Berliners have operated Amy’s over the decades. With growth comes the challenge of culture at scale - while they once knew every colleague by name, it’s no longer possible for Andy to walk the floor of their plant kitchens to check in on how people are feeling and collaborating.
During the pandemic this challenge became real for all founders - and will continue into the future as businesses begin to see the value of more flexible working that offers folks the ability to work from anywhere. How do you hold the culture together when you cannot be present? How do you ensure the foundations of what you stand for are lived every day?
Andy, Rachael and Amy Berliner talk about their new purpose and values in a short film that was shared across their organization.
What does it take to ensure your values aren’t just words on the wall?
Here are a few things we built into our work with Amy’s over the many years we have partnered with them to ensure their cultural DNA is understood and lived by everyone:
Take Leaders on the Journey
We worked with the entire Senior Leadership Team to develop Amy’s purpose and values. While the vision of the founding family was critical, they provided a sandbox for the leadership to create in rather than attempting to outline the DNA themselves. This not only ensured buy-in from leadership, but offered the diverse perspective from across the business to make the DNA realistic and operational.
Tailor the Culture Cascade
Like many businesses, Amy’s has both head office employees and shift workers in their plant kitchens. We developed an experiential way for all employees to build meaning into the purpose and values - including translating into their first language - to ensure the DNA resonated.
Focus Onboarding on Practical Application
It takes time for new folks to learn how things are done in any business. Amy’s isn’t like most cultures - and doesn’t operate like any food business! We shaped an employee journey and orientation that offered employees multiple opportunities to deep dive into culture, including how values are used inside the business to make decisions every day.
Be Clear How Everything Relates to Purpose
Amy’s Drive Thru is a different offer to consumers - but stems from the same DNA. Working with the Drive Thru leadership team we outlined how the restaurant brand relates to CPG - and where they are differentiated. And shaped a unique service philosophy that puts their values front and center.
Cultural DNA is tested when the going gets tough. During the pandemic our clients focused on care for their people and have seen how that built resilience. One of Amy’s values is “take care of each other” which meant they were compelled to put their people first. Their food kitchens made all the right calls to ensure adjustments to the manufacturing process that kept people safe. Demand for products went up - so another value of “rise to the challenge” guided leadership on how to increase production under the new working conditions.
Perhaps the clearest signal of a business guided by its DNA is when it puts investment into operational changes to ensure it reflects what it stands for. Seeing the Berliners and their team lead through the storm has reinforced to me the power of culture to ensure not only legacy of what founders have created, but the ability for any business to achieve success on its own terms.
Learn more about our approach to codifying culture and embedding it into across your operations.
And if you’re interested in growing your business through your culture, get in touch.