Taste, Nutrition & Health | Scent & Care | Corporate

Shaping the future with vanilla
— “Vanilla for Change” joint initiative with Unilever, Save the Children and ME to WE
— Shaping the future of young people in Madagascar and the United Kingdom
— Infos on the project on ice cream wrapping and the online portal “Track Your Impact”

Starting May 17, 2019, Unilever’s brand Wall’s is launching the “Vanilla for Change” campaign. With this campaign, Unilever and its partners the non-profit organization Save the Children, the charitable organization ME to WE and flavor producer Symrise want to reinforce their support for vanilla farmers and young people within the vanilla communities in Madagascar as well as young people in the UK. During the “Vanilla for Change" campaign, when consumers purchase Wall's ice cream, they are supporting a nonprofit project from ME to WE's charitable partner company, the WE schools.

During the Vanilla for Change campaign, consumers will find a Track Your Impact code on Wall's ice cream in the UK. With this, they can learn about their contribution to Wall's projects in schools in the UK and in vanilla-growing communities in Madagascar. For more than three years, Wall’s, Save the Children and Symrise have been working together to support young people in Madagascar. The initiative is currently reaching over 40,000 people in 76 villages. The benefits provided include health insurance, financial seminars and training.

Wall's is seeking to expand these projects and has now partnered with ME to WE. This nonprofit company aims to empower people to make a difference in their day-to-day decisions. Consumers can view the information on their contribution directly via a QR code on the packaging of Cornetto Strawberry, Cornetto Classic, Calippo Combo Strawberry Vanilla and Solero Exotic. By purchasing of the ice cream, they are supporting a nonprofit project from ME to WE's charitable partner company, the WE schools. The WE school program supports both teachers and students with resources and learning opportunities. In total, roughly 100,000 young people in the UK are benefiting from the initiative. Information about the program will be available for download on the Wall's Track Your Impact portal from May 17, 2019: www.wallsicecream.com/uk/inspire-me/me-to-we.html

“We can make a difference with our Vanilla for Change program for vanilla farmers in Madagascar as well as young people in the UK. Now all Wall's connoisseurs can see which Malagasy farmers they are helping with our program. Our partnership with the WE schools also inspires young people to invest in their education,” says Sebastian Munden, Managing Director of Unilever in the United Kingdom.

Symrise supports Wall's with its vanilla expertise and products. “Symrise and Wall's are committed to a supply chain that creates shared value for all participants. Our employees are also friends and neighbors of the small-scale farmers. That is why we are committed to the development of these communities. We are happy that more people can become consciously involved using ‘Track Your Impact,’” says Heinrich Schaper, President Flavors Division at Symrise.

“Vanilla for Change is the first step to demonstrate our commitment to fairness across our supply chain”, adds Ian Maskell, Global VP Wall’s. “It’s a beautiful chapter of the journey we embarked on as a brand to make a difference to the lives of the communities we serve, through our purpose of building a happier, more inclusive world one street at a time.”

“Together with Wall's, we want to improve the lives of Malagasy farmers, stabilize their incomes and improve their education and infrastructure. Save the Children understands and fulfills the needs of children and their families. With this and the experience of our partners in the vanilla supply chain, we are helping to make sustainable vanilla products while providing concrete improvements in the lives of some of the poorest children in Madagascar,” says Gemma Sherrington, who is responsible for donations and marketing at Save the Children in the UK.

ME to WE is committed to helping young people make our world sustainable. With 4,000 schools and groups, the WE schools provided more than 860,000 hours of volunteer work and collected more than 115,000 kilograms of food for nonprofit panels in 2018. With Wall's Vanilla for Change program, we can help even more young people in the UK and create and strengthen the next generation of dedicated citizens,” said Erin Barton, Chief Development Officer at WE.


About Symrise:

Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances, flavorings, cosmetic active ingredients and raw materials, as well as functional ingredients for foods. Its clients include manufacturers of perfumes, cosmetics, food and beverages, the pharmaceutical industry and producers of nutritional supplements and pet food.

Its sales of approximately € 3.2 billion in the 2018 fiscal year make Symrise a leading global provider. Headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, the Group is represented in more than 100 locations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the United States and Latin America.

Symrise works with its clients to develop new ideas and market-ready concepts for products that form an indispensable part of everyday life. Economic success and corporate responsibility are inextricably linked as part of this process.

Symrise – always inspiring more… www.symrise.com


About Unilever & Wall's

Unilever is one of the world's leading providers of personal care items, detergents and household cleaners, and food & beverage products and sells its products in over 190 countries, reaching about 2.5 billion consumers daily. The company employs 155,000 people and generated sales of € 51 billion in 2018. More than half (59 %) of the company's business is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever's approximately 400 brands are found in homes around the world, including Dove, Knorr, Dirt Is Good, Rexona, Hellmann's, Lipton, Wall's, Lux, Magnum, Axe, Sunsilk and Surf. Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) is an integral part of the corporate strategy.

About Save the Children

Save the Children assists children in the most difficult places in the world and helps them to be children. The organization is committed to the survival, protection and educational opportunities for children because every child should be able to shape their world and contribute to a better future.

About ME to WE

ME to WE is a part of WE, a group of organizations that make good deeds possible. WE Charity promotes national and international change. ME to WE is a nonprofit company that creates socially responsible products and experiences to support the common good. WE Day fills stadiums around the world and celebrates the common good. WE enables young people and families to improve the world and supports more than 2,500 local and global projects by providing millions of volunteer hours, promoting sustainable and conscious daily shopping and raising millions of dollars to directly benefit local communities and the world. Worldwide, our teams in Asia, Africa and Latin America have supplied more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,500 schools and classrooms abroad and given more than 200,000 children access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by the socially engaged entrepreneurs and brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.