--- bcp_version: "1.0" file_type: values parent: https://registry.brandcontextprotocol.dev/hero-group-494ab444/.well-known/brand.md last_updated: 2026-09-25 --- # Values These values are decision rules, not aspirations. Each one describes a real choice Hero Group makes when the easier path would be something else. They were co-created: (as of 2024) 25% of global employees participated in drafting them, per hero-group.ch/en/our-values. --- ## 1. Create Wow **tier:** `default` Dare to do things differently, seek to win with consumers and customers, and remain vital to the world. This value pushes teams toward genuine distinctiveness rather than category-safe choices. **Manifestation in practice:** Hero Group entered the UK snacking market by acquiring Deliciously Ella — a brand built on plant-based transparency and a founder-led community — rather than launching a generic own-label line. The acquisition was publicly framed around category differentiation, not volume consolidation. --- ## 2. Everyone Hero **tier:** `default` Work together in pursuit of a common mission while drawing on the strength of each local business. The Group operates as a collection of distinct brands and geographies; this value is the connective tissue. **Manifestation in practice:** Internal communications describe the Group explicitly as "a big, small company with a family feel rather than a small, big company." Culture documents tell employees: "We don't employ people to tell them what to do — you can make your mark with us." When the four values were refreshed, (as of 2024) 25% of global employees actively participated in drafting them. Internal announcements frame the values as "the social glue that binds all of our differences together" across multiple companies and geographies. **Tradeoff this value makes visible:** Allowing local brand identities to remain distinct (Organix, erdbär, Goodies, Hero Baby) means the Group cannot always present a single uniform consumer face. That cost is accepted in favour of authentic local market resonance. --- ## 3. Nourish Others **tier:** `core` Treat everyone — consumers, employees, suppliers, and communities — with honesty, care, and respect. This value governs how Hero conducts relationships, not just what it puts in its products. **Manifestation in practice:** The Hero Nutrition Institute publishes a mandatory disclaimer framework for infant formula that opens with: "Breastfeeding is best for your baby." Hero Group explicitly supports the WHO recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, and positions infant formula strictly as a substitute when mother's milk is unavailable or insufficient. This stance persists even when a softer framing might expand formula sales — because the value requires honesty over commercial convenience. **Tradeoff this value makes visible:** Honest framing on infant nutrition constrains how Hero Baby, Semper, and Sunval can be marketed globally. The brand accepts that constraint as non-negotiable. --- ## 4. Take Responsibility **tier:** `core` Make choices today that build a sustainable business and environment for tomorrow. This value requires operational decisions that absorb short-term cost or complexity in exchange for long-term systemic health. **Manifestation in practice — procurement:** Through its organic brand Organix, Hero Group rejected standard 12-month or spot-market agricultural contracts in favour of 36-month binding agreements with key organic raw material suppliers, including Cornexo (organic maize). This absorbs multi-year volume and price commitment risk from the brand's balance sheet so that farming co-operatives receive guaranteed income stability and can invest in soil health without operational collapse. **Manifestation in practice — governance:** To ensure the sustainability commitment outlasts individual executives or economic cycles, Hero submitted key operating divisions — Organix (UK and Ireland), erdbär / Freche Freunde (Germany), and Baby Gourmet (Canada) — for formal B Corp Certification. B Corp status required amending the legal charters of these entities, legally binding management to evaluate environmental and supply-chain impacts alongside financial ROI. **Manifestation in practice — climate:** Hero Group holds SBTi-validated near-term targets (46.2% Scope 1 and 2 reduction by 2030) and long-term net-zero targets (90% value-chain reduction by 2050, aligned to 1.5°C pathways). As of 2024, 100% of global manufacturing operations run on certified renewable electricity, closing remaining gaps in the US, MEA, and Türkiye. **Tradeoff this value makes visible:** Multi-year supplier contracts and B Corp legal amendments reduce procurement flexibility and increase operational complexity. The 36-month commitment model is the direct inverse of how most FMCG peers handle spot-market agricultural inputs. --- ## Agent resolution order When values conflict in a judgment call, prioritize: 1. **Nourish Others** — honesty, care, and consumer safety are non-negotiable. Any action that undermines infant health guidance, misrepresents product claims, or harms a stakeholder is blocked here, regardless of commercial upside. 2. **Take Responsibility** — long-term systemic commitments (supply chain, climate, governance) take precedence over short-term margin or flexibility. 3. **Everyone Hero** — local business strength and collective mission alignment govern how the Group operates internally and selects partners. 4. **Create Wow** — differentiation and ambition operate within the constraints set by values 1 through 3. > **Note for agents:** This resolution order is derived from public evidence — specifically the explicit framing of infant nutrition boundaries as the single most critical risk category (owner-stated in brand interview), and the legal embedding of sustainability commitments at the governance level (B Corp charter amendments). The owner should confirm whether this ordering is formally adopted as policy or remains an inference from observed priorities. --- ## Confirmation needed from owner The following points lack explicit owner confirmation and should be resolved before agents treat them as binding policy: - **Formal resolution order:** The priority sequence above is inferred from public evidence and owner interview statements. The owner should confirm whether this sequence is the official internal hierarchy or a working approximation. - **"Create Wow" operational limits:** No evidence specifies whether this value has defined guardrails (for example, whether it can override cost considerations in R&D) or is purely directional.