Innovation and Quality

Since Gullón expanded its product line in 1980s, the company has prioritised investment in research and development in order to better meet the consumer needs.

Our desire to innovate has led us to become one of the top investors in R&D in the biscuit sector: we currently invest 2% of our turnover.

Nowadays, Gullón offers a wide variety of products and leads the healthier biscuit category. The expansion of the facilities, the assembling of new production lines, the use of the latest equipment or the active role of R&D in new product design are the result of hard work and continuous investment.

Gullón is actively engaged in research projects in collaboration with technology centres, universities, ministries and European Union bodies. The focus of these projects is the development of healthy food products and the improvement of production processes.

From 2007 to 2011, Gullón led the CENIT-Higea project, aimed at the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases (diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases). The project involved 14 national companies from the agri-food sector, with a wide experience of R&D and healthy eating, and seven national and international research institutions.

In 2015, Gullón led the Primicia R&D project, focused on the new nutrition. The aim of this project was to develop food products that help prevent chronic inflammation and the related diseases, such as obesity, disorders of the cardiovascular and the central nervous system, rheumatoid arthritis or cancer.

The project was developed thanks to the Centre for Technological Industrial Development (CDTI) and it was co-funded by the European Union, under the ERDF Operational Programme for Smart Growth 2014-2020.

Concerning the production processes, Gullón is involved in the REEMAIN project, a 9 million euros initiative funded by the European Union. The REEMAIN project seeks to design the “factory of the future” in terms of energy efficiency and sustainable waste management.

Our commitment to innovation can also be seen in our factories: Gullón I, Gullón II and, since 2015, VIDA (Vértice de Innovación y Desarrollo de Alimentos). Together, they form the biggest industrial site dedicated to biscuit production in Europe. The construction and opening of VIDA in 2015, which represented a heavy investment, will allow Gullón to strengthen its productive capacity and boost its international expansion.

SANITARY RECORDS

Management policy

Since it was founded, its concern for foodstuff safety and quality has been a priority in the development of all the activities carried out by the GULLÓN GROUP. Furthermore, as an essential part of the community in which it lives, our organisation has made a firm commitment to protecting the environment, natural resources and the health and safety of its employees and neighbours.

The fundamental pillars of our organisation are equal rights and obligations with no discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religious, political or trade union ideology and ethical interrelations with all our stakeholders.

These commitments and concerns go beyond mere compliance with applicable legislation and regulations and, accordingly, we have implanted and constantly update our management system. The aim of the system is to constitute the company’s global management system, which includes all functions and stands as a tool for meeting the company’s internal and external management requirements to the full satisfaction of our customers expectations and needs. The aim is also to guarantee the desired levels of quality, foodstuff safety and environmental protection.

As part of our environmental policy, the GULLÓN GROUP does not use ingredients and/or additives that contain or derive from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

We understand that foodstuff safety and quality must not be only a feature of our product, but must also be the way in which our company’s actual situation is understood. As a result, it is applied throughout our business cycle and involves our suppliers. It is also the everyday responsibility of all the company’s workers and it is offered to customers in all our products.

To apply the aforementioned concept of quality and guarantee our commitments to the prevention of contamination and the protection of the environment, we will base our approach on the following principles:

• We apply the philosophy of continuous improvement as an essential and permanent form of operation in order to maintain and improve the level of quality, foodstuff safety and legality of our products, along with the level of environmental protection achieved. We focus continuously on customers and their requirements in order to deserve their respect and trust and we take into consideration the environment in which we carry on our business at all times.
• We undertake to comply with applicable legislation and regulations, as well as other requirements to which our organisation subscribes.
• We undertake to promote the development and continuous improvement of a culture of foodstuff safety and quality at our organisation, along with the manufacture of safe and authentic products.
• We also undertake to conserve resources and energy, reduce waste, especially container waste and emissions, and, in general, prevent contamination.
• We declare that the company’s main asset is its workers and, accordingly, they will be given the resources they need to carry out their work safely and effectively.

To achieve the principles declared in the management policy, the general management has officially declared its unconditional commitment.

Aguilar de Campoo, 11 January 2019
Signed: Juan Miguel Martínez Gabaldón
Managing Director of GALLETAS GULLÓN S.A.