Presented by Mark Smucker, President and Chief Executive Officer

The pandemic has changed all of our lives in fundamental ways. As we start on the road back to normal – or a new normal – we are working hard to ensure Smucker is doing what’s right for our people, partners and the millions of consumers who trust and enjoy our brands every day, all in ways that align with how the world is evolving. This evolution will also give us the competitive advantage we need to win in the market.

We are proud to have supported our employees through this unprecedented time, but we realize their needs have evolved and will continue to in this new normal.

Many of our employees have shared their desire to maintain much of the flexibility they have enjoyed over the past year while acknowledging they have missed the face-to-face interactions that have always been an important aspect of our culture. I have always felt that our culture is often best expressed through the informal engagement we have with each other between meetings, at lunch or over coffee.  We haven’t experienced that in over a year, and we recognize that striking the right balance between supporting flexibility while enabling in-person interactions will be a critical way we nurture our culture moving forward.

In addition to supporting our employees in managing their time around work days, it is important that we help ensure they have the necessary time away from work as well.

While our employees who have worked remotely have adapted incredibly well, we recognize this altered work environment has further blurred the distinction between work and home. This is a significant issue – one that can negatively impact our employees’ productivity, but, more importantly, their health and happiness.

In recognition of this, we will continue to encourage our employees to make time to relax, rejuvenate and recharge and accommodate their ability to truly be away -- not just logged off for a majority of the time their out-of-office message is up.

Last year we made important progress on our commitment to thrive together with all those who are impacted by our business. Notably we donated more than 32 million meals to people and pets, committed more than $1.5 million to support the I PROMISE School Hometown Hall and the Akron Children’s Hospital Reach out and Read Program, remained on pace to exceed our 2020 environmental impact goals, denounced racism and intolerance while taking meaningful steps to enhance the role we can play in combatting these issues - including committing $500,000 to non-profit organizations combatting discrimination and expanded our work to realize the objectives of our Global Responsible Sourcing program to support our suppliers.

While proud of the results we were able to realize along with our partners, the pandemic, systemic social injustice and continued climate change concerns, have made it clear there was a need to adopt a more focused approach to what we support and how.

This led us to develop our evolved Thriving Together agenda with a focus on helping ensure access to quality food, access to education, making connections to community resources, ensuring equitable and ethical treatment for all and supporting a healthier planet. You can learn more about our Thriving Together agenda here.

During the pandemic, more consumers have turned to our brands and trusted products. We are committed to retaining their loyalty and building on it. Critical to realizing this is supporting consumers’ evolving buying habits and meeting their evolving needs.

We will meet these expectations in several ways. Notably, we are continuing to invest in our growing ecommerce business, including expanding our use of data and AI to identify and act upon consumer insights while continuing to enhance the efficiency of our supply chain. Our efforts are all designed to make the consumer experience even more convenient. We also expect to see consumers eating breakfast, drinking coffee and having lunch at home more than before the pandemic –  in addition to the increases in pet adoption and pet parents having more time at home to treat their pets.  That means consumers who are already turning to our brands will have an even greater need. In the weeks and months to come, we will deliver consumers the consistent quality they expect and meaningful innovations to enhance how they enjoy our products.

As we look toward the new normal, we will approach the continued support of our employees, communities and consumers with an understanding of and appreciation for the changing world around us. Our culture and our values are our competitive differentiator – this is a constant – but the kind of impact that our culture and values will have on the world will continue to evolve.