The new CEO of Raglan Food Co, Peter Simmons, started his career in New Zealand as a sales merchandiser and representative, moving through a variety of key account and brand management roles locally before heading to London, where he also worked in the FMCG and telecommunication industries. These career opportunities have played a formative role in shaping Simmons, who, upon returning to New Zealand, worked for Mars Incorporated, whom he was with for 16 years immediately, most recently as General Manager NZ before his latest appointment as CEO at Raglan Food Co. He had various roles in New Zealand and internationally based in Belgium.
“Mars as a family-owned and purpose-lead business gave me fantastic global and local learnings, and I feel very grateful for my time with the business,” said Simmons.
The next logical step was for Simmons to go abroad again; however, driven to stay in New Zealand for family, he decided to find a role wherein he could both stay in New Zealand and continue working in a business with purpose at its heart. Inspired by founder Tesh and Seb’s story and vision for the future, with Raglan Food Co products regularly appearing in his fridge, Simmons has joined the Raglan Food Co business.
Simmons continued that alongside the ambition to grow and expand the business, a key part of his inspiration and passion for Raglan Food Co. is its commitment to environmentalism and the planet.
“We all know we are at a crucial time with how our industry impacts the planet and its future. I’m a dad of three, and I worry about the future of our planet for my kids. I love my time in the environment, the water and the snow; these are my happy places, so I want us to do more to protect these environments for the future.”
His first course of action was working with the Raglan Food Co. team, getting to know them, the business, and how it operates. Alongside collaboration with the team, he has ventured out to work with local customers who have supported the business since its inception.
Next is prioritising innovating and trialling new products, with Raglan Food Co’s latest range of products attracting customers back to the category.
“Continuing to excite consumers and attract them to dairy-free is our key focus.”
Accelerating growth to domestic and international markets through new pack formats and flavours and communicating the benefits of consuming Raglan Food Co products is the overarching focus and zeal Simmons has brought into his new role.
A key aspect of helping along this growth is overcoming preconceived ideas around dairy-free products, particularly the impression customers have that it doesn’t taste as good as their dairy counterparts.
“Whilst some brands don’t meet consumer expectations, this couldn’t be further from the truth for Raglan.”
One challenge that Simmons said will be continuing to ensure Raglan Food Co. strikes a balance between time and freedom, with the team being the business’s most important asset and taking care to balance the time and freedom of its team members is the key to success.
“Also, as a growth company, we are expanding and looking for new people to join; finding talent remains a challenge many small and big businesses still face.”
Challenges with the economy, which many businesses face, are something that concerns Simmons as well, as he added that while Raglan Food Co has had growth returning, these challenges will need to ease to allow it to invest in its people and further business growth, as well as delivering value for customers.
Read more from the January Issue below:
