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At SBF GB&I we believe our unique blend of Japanese ingenuity and European entrepreneurship creates a company culture that stands out from other businesses, fostering inclusiveness, wellbeing and achievement.

Winning the Best Company to Work For (In-House) at the UK Company Culture Awards (CCA) and being named the only soft drinks manufacturer in the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in EMEA is a real recognition of the work we’ve been doing over the past two years to support our people through the pandemic and create a place where everyone is inspired to bring their best selves to work. This means creating the right conditions that allow everyone across the business to thrive, giving structure and encouraging social connections while supporting independence and flexibility.

We were also awarded silver for Best Flexible Working Policy at the UK Company Culture Awards which is a testament to the effort our People & Culture team have put in to deliver a new hybrid way of working that would suit our people best. As we adapted to the pandemic, we realised that going back to five days in the office was not only unattractive to our employees, but actually wasn’t advantageous to the business either.

Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I lead with meaningful purpose and it seems that the majority of the Suntorians believe in the company purpose and values. Their submission clearly demonstrated the strong company vision and culture which binds the whole team together. The employee wellbeing initiatives are quite unique and clearly contribute to good employee engagement, as well as contributing to wellbeing.

Company Culture Award Judges

We listened to our people, learning about how they navigated the circumstances of the past two years, while still delivering some amazing results. This valuable insight helped to shape our current flexible working policy: a 2:3 model which involves a minimum of two days in the office and maximum of three days from home. The second day in the office can also be swapped for what we call a day in ‘Gemba’. Gemba is a unique Japanese concept that places importance on where value is created for our business. It is about observation of behaviour and taking it back to the company as a learning so we can fulfil a consumer and customer need, whether it’s spending time with suppliers, in shops observing retail behaviour or out with our farmers to learn more.

Our flexible working policy is unique in the way it really captures how and where the most value can really be created by our employees every day – whether that is at home, in the office, or out in the Gemba. Our Japanese heritage is an incredibly important part of our new hybrid way of working, something we are incredible proud of and that we believe distinguishes us from other companies.

We’re always looking for new people to join our SBF GB&I family so why not check out our current openings if this has inspired you? https://www.suntorybeverageandfood-europe.com/en-GB/gbi/careers/