Private label specialist receives third TOP 100 seal for innovative capacity and success
On June 23rd, for the 24th time, The TOP 100 seal was presented to medium-sized German companies that distinguish themselves by a special capacity for innovation and above-average innovative success. Gropper were again amongst the select few in 2017. With this year’s award, Gropper have achieved a perfect “hat-trick”, the dairy having already received the award in 2012 and 2014. A great honour that is above all thanks to a well-developed culture of innovation in all of the dairy’s scopes. Innovative product concepts, new and continued developments in technology and equipment, as well as interdepartmental collaboration to inspire new ideas are among this medium-sized dairy company’s real strengths.
“The innovation workshop that we started two years ago is an important building block in providing space for creative new ideas,” explains Heinrich Gropper, owner of the dairy, “all product concepts developed here are arise from teams with members from different departments.” This means that each employee could have an inventor hidden within. Coffee with cookies, cold-brew smoothies, and protein yoghurt with superfoods in a TopCup are just some examples of the innovative new products currently under intensive development until they are ready to bring to market. This collaboration across the various departments also ensures a well-balanced work atmosphere where everyone can express themselves and rediscover their talents.
However, it’s not just product ideas that bear testimony to the great capacity for innovation at Gropper. New and continued technological developments are often part of the daily agenda and are an important factor in allowing companies to remain future-proof in a fast-paced market. For example, the company’s own energy team ensures optimal energy use in Bissingen and Stockach. Measuring stations provide insights into optimisation across all sites in order to minimise costs, and the company’s own large heat and power plant generates the majority of the electricity used by Gropper. Further incentives for creative product and packaging solutions are provided by collaboration with acclaimed partners, such as the Zukunftsinstitut(“Future Institute”).
Diverse quality programmes also show how hard this dairy works to keep up with current trends. Flexible structures and high product competence allow Gropper to place their products on the market quickly and efficiently, including milk and organic, low-sugar, regional, and GMO-free products, as well as products that meet high animal care standards. Perhaps most important in all this are the close relationships with trading partners and distributors that this the company has cultivated over the years. Thus, the dairy understands what the trends of tomorrow are, so they know where to focus today. For Gropper, being named a TOP 100 leading innovator for the third time, as well as the company’s recognition as an innovative company at Brand Eins 2016, are par for the course, but also a constant motivator for the company to continue developing innovative product concepts and technological solutions.