“Organics with love” articulates our belief that foods that are healthy and holistic in an ethereal sense can only be cultivated, produced and processed by healthy, happy people.
Only people who do well themselves, who do not have to fight for daily survival can muster the necessary diligence and affection that is needed for the production of healthy foodstuffs - food that does not only fill one’s stomach but that is beneficial to one’s well-being.
For that reason we consider the welfare of all those people who participate in the making of a food product. Starting with the farmers who stand at the beginning of the value chain, the employees who work for our suppliers and all the way to the Rapunzel staff that is responsible for the processing, packaging, storage and logistics of our food products.
The underlying base for all this are fair and adequate prices that Rapunzel pays and that create adequate value at all levels. Frequent visits to our farmers and upstream suppliers – including those who are no HAND IN HAND partners – provide us insights into local conditions and help to establish authentic social contacts.
The notion that we, the people who represent Rapunzel, love and appreciate the Rapunzel products that we manufacture is the most important prerequisite for our daily work. We would be happy if you can taste this and in consequence can feel it in your personal health and well-being.
Rapunzel's corporate goals, our vision and philosophy as well as a code of conduct show what we are working towards together, how we imagine an ideal world, which values determine our actions and according to which guidelines we shape our daily together.
Vision and Corporate Philosophy
The Rapunzel Vision
Our idealistic concept of the world
- A just and livable world where globality is not a threat but an opportunity.
- The regions of the world are treated as equal partners.
- We have only one earth where all people have the same right to live in peace and to have adequate work and income.
- Healthy, high-quality organic foods are our contribution. Our food products advance the well-being of the people and are available for everyone.
- With the production of our foods we promote the distribution of organic farming and contribute to the protection of our natural environment for today’s and tomorrow’s generations.
- This creates adequate value for all those who participate in the process from the field to the plate.
- The awareness for comprehensive personal responsibility is the basis of our actions, our lives and our daily work.
Rapunzel Corporate Philosophy
These values determine our actions
- We are an authentic family company with a high degree of individual employee responsibility.
- Safe jobs and a good working atmosphere form the foundation of our economic success. Personal fulfillment (being in the right place), enjoying the job and having fun at work are the cornerstones of our corporate culture.
- We appreciate our customers and their needs.
- We treat our partners fairly and as equals. We take into account the social and economic conditions in the country.
- The quality of our organic food products from the organic cultivation, to the production all the way to the consumer has the highest priority.
- Innovative technologies are the basis of our production expertise.
- We are committed to foodstuffs that are produced and processed without genetically modified organisms.
- We know the origin of our products.
- We practice active environmental protection. In our decisions we consider the conservation of natural resources, the protection of the climate and the preservation of biodiversity.
- In order to reach and maintain all our social and ecological goals, we are economically successful. Innovation, high productivity and efficiency are our strengths.
- We produce organics with love.
Rapunzel Corporate Goals
Corporate structure: We are an authentic family company with a broad management structure, a high level of employee responsibility and short decision-making paths.
Working atmosphere: Our company is fun to work for. We treat each other fair, with respect and appreciation. High staff satisfaction and long-term job tenure are important for us. We live our social and ethical values.
Employees: We encourage and challenge our employees and pay fair wages. Well-educated, motivated and content employees are our strength. Equal opportunities and inclusion are important to us. Our profit-sharing bonus program turns all our employees into motivated co-entrepreneurs.
Customers: We offer our customers the best service and best product quality. This also includes clear, individual sales concepts for all sales segments.
Suppliers: We cooperate with high-performance suppliers and treat each other fair. Our suppliers share our values and goals. We foster collaborative, long-term supplier partnerships.
Production expertise: We are a competent manufacturer of organic food products. With the use of innovative technologies, we continuously optimise our product range.
Food quality: Ensuring and increasing the organic and product quality of our food is our top priority. To this end, we create awareness in our employees and all the people who are part of the value chain.
Food safety is one of our main concerns. To guarantee this, Rapunzel has high standard for all parties involved, when it comes to product quality, authenticity and legality, across all processes. The implementation is subject to permanent internal controls and inspections by independent third parties.Organic agriculture and ecology: For us, environmental protection and sustainable behavior are an integrated challenge that cannot be reduced to individual, partial aspects. Organic cultivation is the basis for a sustainable, future-proof management approach in agriculture and an essential contribution to global food security. We actively protect biological diversity through the use of organic seeds and a GMO-free cultivation.
As producer of vegetarian and vegan organic foods with a wide range of wholesome products, we promote vegetarianism and/or a meat-reduced life style.Our energy management system and technical innovations permit an ecologically sustainable production. Our company actively strives towards climate neutrality. We prioritise emission savings over offsetting.
Project work: We are committed to organic farming worldwide with our own projects, thus allowing us to ensure our transparent Rapunzel quality. Our oldest project is our subsidiary, Rapunzel Turkey. It is an integral part of our company activities. Our HAND IN HAND fair trade programme is at the heart of our social trading activities.
Brand and product line: The Rapunzel brand is an authentic, sympathetic, vivacious and trustworthy brand with a vision and a history. The brand lives on through social, societal, cultural and political commitment.
In our most important core assortments we achieve and maintain a leading market position in the industry. Innovative product development strengthens our product range.Economic efficiency: We are growing organically. For us, the operating results are more important than turnover figures. Economic success is the basis for sustainability. Our strengths are high productivity and efficient work processes.
Public benefit: Through our fair trade programme and the Bio-Cent, we mobilise funds to support ecological and social projects, both regionally and worldwide. The RAPUNZEL One World Organic Foundation is tasked with managing and utilising these funds for a sustainable world, in which the well-being of people, plants, animals and the environment is given equal consideration.
Autonomy: In our decisions, we are free of economic heteronomy. Independence from banks and investors is part of our corporate culture The structure of our distribution channels gives us freedom to act.
Rapunzel Together: Our Code of Conduct
Appreciation and fairness are the foundations of our interactions. This includes internal communication among colleagues or external interactions with partners, competitors and the public.
We see ourselves as a team where everybody helps and supports each other. We promote at eye level the development of organic agriculture and a fair world. This community also includes our suppliers from around the world and our business partners.
Respectful and fair interaction means for us a clear and transparent communication as well as unbiased and benevolent encounters. Especially in difficult situations, we stay objective and respectful and we work together to find good solutions.
The freedom of expression, the protection of individual rights and privacy protection are important elements of our democratic society. At the same time, freedom of expression has its limits where the rights of others are violated. We appreciate a fair discussion culture, respect individuality and assume personal responsibility.
The democratic principles form the basis for the communication in our company, in business interactions as well as for any other business-related communication. We use democratic instruments and instruments of personal responsibility that include for example the mutual feedback discussions with superiors, discussions with the Workers’ Council or the active suggestion scheme.
We treat each other respectfully and fair, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender and age,
religion or belief, disability, culture or sexual identity and orientation.
Our conviction also includes the culture of equal opportunity, mutual respect and reciprocal trust. Our interactions a free of verbal, physical and sexual harassment or violence. This also applies to the interaction with any departmental affiliations or other subdivision, independently of hierarchical structures.
With start of an employment relationship at Rapunzel, we agree to protect confidential
company information, data, trade and business secrets such as manufacturing processes,
recipes, distribution channels and calculation bases, company software and comparable
information as well as detailed sales figures and we agree not to pass any of this information to outside parties. A special focus is on the protection of sensitive and personal data that we obtain externally from partners, customers and suppliers
We are aware of the fact that every employee has a representative function. This means that we represent the company to the outside and that we behave in the interest of the company. This includes discussions in the public sphere and statements for example in social media. Any communication with media and with journalists shall be coordinated in advance with the Rapunzel press office.
We will examine every decision with respect to ensuring a respectful interaction with the environment and with nature. This starts with avoiding needless printing and includes the separation of wastes and the choice of transport mode. We weigh for example the option if a business trip can be replaced by a virtual conference or we form carpools for the way to work. Any ideas that might strengthen the sustainability in the company we shall submit via the company suggestion scheme.
With the production of organic food products, we make a daily contribution to the protection of the environment and its preservation for todays and future generations.
A conflict of interest may arise if personal interests and the company interests disagree.
We put company requirements, food safety and food quality in first place above personal advantages or sympathy. If an encounter with a business partner is less friendly than usual, we still react politely and respectfully. Towards politicians and public officials, we act in a neutral manner.
We accept or offer gifts and invitations only if they are not costly or if they do not exceed the normal scope and have no influence on our decisions nor the decisions of our business partners. In particular, this includes the acceptance of gift and presents whose rejection would offend cultural practices.
In case of doubt, we contact our responsible manager or the Workers’ Council and document what we discussed.
