nourishinglittle ones

mission report 2015

Plum’s mission isn’t something we hang on a back wall or talk

about on a volunteer day. It’s our reason for being - every day.

Our mission is the same as our business objective –

to create the very best food from the first bite and to get

it into as many hands of little ones as possible. To use our

platform to change the way kids in this country eat – for the

better. We extend that mission to little ones in need; children

who might not otherwise have access to the quality food they deserve. Donating

large volumes of the same organic food we sell costs something, but yields much

more in return (the love and loyalty of our team and consumers top that list).

As Neil says, business is personal. We count ourselves lucky to get to work every

day on a mission we’re each personally invested in (and to challenge ‘business as

usual’ a little along the way, too).

Yours,

Neil Grimmer Co-Founder & Chairman

Victoria Fiore Director of Mission&

This report is a reflection of the mission efforts of Plum, PBC fiscal year 2015 (August 2014-July 2015)

Hi!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

the very best food 4

nourishing little ones in need 8

leaving a baby-sized footprint 16

business as a force for good 18

our f rst pouch

learn share

clarifyideate

prototyperefine

What do we need to know?

What d id we learn?

A mill ion,b ill ion ideas

BIG idea

What i s t

h is rea

lly?

NO, really . What?

What isn’t working?What can we help with?

What problem do we want to work on?

How will we learn that?What do parents want or need from us?

made with trend-forward ingredients,

such as ginger, chia, kale, lentils

and sunflower seed butter

addresses concerns voiced by parents in the 1st year of

baby’s life—digestive support, bone health, muscle health

and DHA

stage 2 purees that harness nutritious organic

ingredients to help support baby

®

®

the very best foodPlum was founded on the belief that little ones deserve the very best food from

the very first bite. We want to raise the next generation to crave super foods,

skip the junk, and eat adventurously, and we design each Plum product with

that mission in mind. Our online Resource Center shares our food philosophy

and provides helpful tips to set little ones on a healthy course for life.

Plum uses a human-centered design process to ensure that our products

are the best fit for families’ needs. Below is a snapshot of what that process

looks like and how we used it to develop the Grow Well® products – one of our

product lines that we’re really excited about.

22,422,527 pounds of organic produce purchased in FY15

the very best food 5

Non-GMO Project

Verified products

*The Full Effect® program was launched in March of 2013

10 1.6total products donated since

program launch*

65non-GMO

Project Verifiedproducts

MILLION MILLION

29new

organic meals and snacks launched in FY15

Super Smoothies donated since

program launch*

4,000,000+59,000,000+organic meals and snacks sold in FY15

organic meals and snacks donated in FY15, including over 700,000 Super Smoothies!

the very best food nourishing little ones in need

the very best food 7

nourishing little ones in need

when little ones are

full of nutrients, they can live into their

full potential, and have their

full effect on the world

The Full Effect® program was founded to extend our mission to little ones in need.

we produce nutritious products…

that we donate to our nonproft partners…

that get it into the hands of little ones in need

across America

SANFRANCISCO

THROUGH THE FULL EFFECT®,

WE LAUNCHED THE SUPER SMOOTHIE

TO NOURISH LITTLE ONES IN NEED

• launched in 2013 as a pouch for donation

• designed in conjunction with pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene, non-profit partners, and food insecure families

• launched for sale as a buy-give product in 2014 – for every 4-pack purchased we donate a pouch to a little one in need

MALNOURISHED CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE

nutrition related disease like diabetes & obesity

higher rate of illness & hospitalization

learning & developmental delays

AB C

15.7 million children in America live in poverty

85% of food insecure families have at least one working adult

in the household

1 IN 5 CHILDREN IN AMERICA IS FOOD INSECURE

THAT’S 16 MILLION KIDS

700,000Super Smoothies donated in FY15

$

nourishing little ones in need 9

HOMELESS PRENATAL PROGRAMWe're proud to partner with Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) to support

some of the most vulnerable moms and young children in San Francisco.

Many of the women HPP helps are fleeing extreme poverty, domestic

violence, homelessness and addiction – they come to HPP seeking a

better life for themselves and their children.

“I found hope when I found out I was pregnant.”

Maresa, HPP Client

*

PARTNERSHIP

4,209

4,000+

120,605families served by

HPP in 2014

Homeless Prenatal

Program is located

in San Francisco,

right in our backyard

healthy and drug-free babies have been

born to HPP clients since opening in 1989

= 100 babies

organic meals and snacks

donated to HPP families in FY15

*

SANFRANCISCO

= 100 babies*

SANFRANCISCO

SANFRANCISCO

SANFRANCISCO

photographer: Keri Vacaphotographer: Ryan Kendrick

photographer: Ryan Kendrickphotographer: Ryan Kendrick

nourishing little ones in need 11

• the size of Connecticut, but with only 1 grocery store

• infant mortality 3 times the national rate

• life expectancy the lowest anywhere in the western hemisphere except for Haiti

• unemployment rate at 80-90% and the annual per capita income is $4,000

Through our partnership with Conscious Alliance, we’ve been able to

support little ones living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pine Ridge

is the 8th largest and most impoverished reservation in the United States.

IN FY15 WE HELPED OPEN THE FIRST PERMANENT FOOD BANK ON PINE RIDGE

3,000students provided with

backpacks filled with goodies

from Plum and friends

45,745organic meals + snacks donated

= 100 students

*

CONSCIOUS ALLIANCEPARTNERSHIP

*PINE RIDGE

nourishing little ones in need 13

3,845,160organic meals & snacks donated

CONVOY OF HOPE Our partner Convoy of Hope has helped us reach over 81,000 folks in 300

communities in need across America. With Convoy of Hope, we’ve also

provided baby meals and snacks for disaster relief to communities

domestically and internationally.

PARTNERSHIP

EL SALVADOR

HAITI

HONDURAS

NICARAGUA

SIERRA LEONE

LIBERIA

LEBANON

PHILIPPINES

= areas served together

what are community outreaches?Community Outreaches are one day events put on by Convoy of Hope with the help of

local volunteers and organizations in communities in need. In FY15, we participated in

all 18. The events provide a day filled with services such as onsite mammograms and

dental exams, career coaching, free items such as new shoes and school supplies, and

free food such as a hot lunch, groceries and Plum baby food for families with little ones. 3

rural communities receive ongoing

food donations

nourishing little ones in need 15

Harlan HeroHarlan Sullins, a little one from North Carolina, was diagnosed a few years ago with a rare brain cancer.

As he got progressively sicker, one of the only foods Harlan would eat was Plum’s Raspberry Swirl Oatmeal.

He often used it as a chaser during chemotherapy. Plum had discontinued Raspberry Swirl Oatmeal, and

when Harlan’s family could no longer find it on shelves they, and their broader communities reached out to

Plum for help.

The Plum family, along with our supply chain partners, came together to produce 5,000 pouches of

Raspberry Swirl just for Harlan. Unfortunately, before any of the pouches were able to reach him,

Harlan passed away. In his honor, we donated the pouches to foundations across the nation that work

with other little ones battling diseases like Harlan’s. Harlan’s pouch sits in our office as a reminder of

what (and who) we’re in business for.

NEED ISN’T ALWAYS ABOUT POVERTY, AND IT’S OUR MISSION TO SERVE ALL KIDS IN NEED.

the

nourishing little ones in need 17

leaving a baby-sized footprintWe’re working to shrink our environmental footprint

through reducing our packaging impact.

the pouch advantageTHE PROS: the pouch has a smaller overall

environmental footprint than the glass jar, using less

energy and generating less greenhouse gases during

its life-cycle.

THE CONS: there is no recyclable pouch film

in existence now —it’s a food safety thing.

We’re collaborating with industry experts

to work towards

Even though Plum’s pouch caps are made from recyclable plastic, many recycling

facilities can’t process the caps because they’re too small. We teamed up with

Preserve to launch a dedicated cap recycling program with drop off locations

across the country.

PARTNERSHIP

HOW2RECYCLECOALITION

OSC2

GIMME 5 PROGRAM with PRESERVE

We're proud to be part of a

coalition of 22 brand and industry

leaders committed to creating

compostable packaging.

Is it just us, or can recycling get a

little confusing? That’s why Plum

joined How2Recycle, a labeling

system that makes it easier for

all of us to understand what goes

where in recycling bins. We're adding

How2Recycle labels to all new and

existing products as we update packaging.

295drop-off bins

75products have How2Recycle

labels

made fromrecyclable

plastic

Lighter environmental footprint than a glass jar

Y E A R S

PROUD MEMBER2

leaving a baby sized footprint 19

business as a force for good

This year we celebrated our second birthday as a Public Benefit

Corporation, or PBC! A PBC is a type of corporate entity, like

“Inc.” or “LLC.” It’s our legal status of incorporation and it means

that we exist to both make profit and serve a greater societal

purpose (i.e., make the world a little better). Plum’s public benefit

is to deliver nourishing, organic food to our nation’s little ones

and to raise awareness and advance solutions for childhood

hunger and malnutrition in the United States.

At Plum, our mission permeates all aspects of our business, including our

culture. In April 2015, a group of employees came together to brainstorm a

way for the Plum family to help those impacted by the Nepal earthquake.

By organizing an internal silent auction, the Plum team raised over $10,000

for relief efforts in Nepal.

PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION

Plum has been a Certified B Corp since 2008. We’re continually using the B Impact

Assessment as a tool to find ways to implement best practices and are working

vigorously to continue to increase our score year over year.

CERTIFIED B CORP

what's a B Corp?• B Corp is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee

or USDA Organic certification is to milk

• B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency

1mission 43

countries

130industries

100

200B SCORE

YEAR

90

FY14 FY15

9991

100

200B SCORE

YEAR

90

FY14 FY15

9991

1500+certified B Corps

business as a force for good 21

Plum takes care to develop and nurture its diverse family. We come in all

genders, colors and ages – more than 50% of us identify as female, over

40% of us are people of color and almost 10% of us consider ourselves

baby boomers. But one thing that remains the same across all of us is our

commitment to our mission: 83% of employees agree/strongly agree that

"Plum's commitment to its Mission and social responsibility (e.g.,

community support, sustainability, etc.) is genuine."

Each month we recognize one employee

who has gone above and beyond with their

commitment to our mission. To celebrate,

Mission Awardees are given goodies from

fellow B Corps.

Employees support their communities’

needs through office fundraisers and

drives. Last year, we collected books, toys,

clothes and more through internal fund

raisers for community members in need.

110 Plum employees put in 353

volunteer hours in 2015.

Through our Nourishing our Neighbors

program, Plum makes a donation for

every 25 hours an employee

volunteers!

110 = 353

This year,we sought to betterdefine and promote our companyculture through3 key values.

business as a force for good 23

Zzzz....Zzzz....

lighting: efficient lighting with occupancy sensors minimize energy usage

waste: recycling and compost bins in the kitchen and near desks encourage separating waste

pumping room: private room to give mothers space to nourish their little ones

commuting: indoor bike parking encourages green commuting

living wall: living wall keeps our air fresh and recirculates water, using 75% less water than traditional systems

In 2015, we completed renovations to our building to house our growing Plum family.

We used this opportunity to incorporate our mission through green building practices.

HOME OFFICE SUSTAINABILITY

water: low-flow faucets and signage reduce water usage

waste: alternative waste stations provide safe and convenient options for disposing batteries, plastic bags, e-waste, corks and more

nap room: quiet space to recharge and refresh

appliances: ENERGY STAR® rated appliances minimize greenhouse emissions from our new kitchen

business as a force for good 25

We’re humbled to receive notes of gratitude from Plum parents every day,

which we affectionately call – Love Bombs. Every Monday morning, we close

our all-hands meeting with a Love Bomb as a little reminder to the team of why

we do what we do.

Hi there!

As a mom of two and painting from home…, it is so hard to make my own baby food let alone use the restroom!

My point in writing you today is to share with you a large Thank you for making an amazing product that my baby, Ian Moon Sweet cries for and loves! You make my life as a busy full time mom and artist Easy!

Sincerely, Skye Sweet

To Whom It May Concern,

I just wanted to take a minute to let you know how much your products mean to my family. I have been giving my son, now 3 and a half, your pouches and snacks since he was one and he still loves them. Those days he doesn’t want to eat his vegetables, I have him pick out a pouch or two and I know he has received the nutrition he needs…

Sincerely, Amanda Mayer

Dear Plum Organics,

Raising a bi-cultural child in the United States, we are intentional about exposing her to a variety of tastes in food. When she tasted your Chickpea and Beef with Cumin, your Chicken and Tarragon, and Turkey and Sage meals she devoured them immediately. As a Mom, it made me so happy that she not only ate but, that she enjoyed what she was eating while developing ‘diverse taste’ buds :-)

Thank you once again,

Abigail S. Johnson

business as a force for good 27

1485 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608

www.plumorganics.com

100

200B SCORE

YEAR

90

FY14 FY15

9991