Silvio Elias: "Less 'greenwashing' and more authenticity"

Silvio Elias De Gispert is CEO of Veritas. He has lived the family business and the passion for food since he was little. References? His father, his mother, and Nelson Mandela. He worked at Arthur Andersen, Albert Heijn, and Caprabo. He discovered the product and the ecological revolution in Holland. Hisikigai? To do everything that transforms and makes a difference.Routine bores him, and he decided to listen to the earth, people, and animals.He has been president of Comertia, founder of Ecomemprendedores or the Adama Foundation and is a member of the board of Juno House. He also plays the guitar and now especially recommends the music ofSaysby Nils Frahm. "To shine is to look towards the ego and to illuminate is to inspire and serve," she reflects. Let's go to the roots.---Born into a family of great entrepreneurs.My mother has given me an education very sensitive to art, emotions, and food. She always read the fine print. My father is a great example of entrepreneurship, positivism, optimism, drive, and transformation.---Childhood memories?My father worked Saturday mornings and I would accompany him to make the offer posters. I have lived and enjoyed the family business since I was little. I don't know any other reality.

"Decisions must have impact and transcendence. I am passionate about what transforms and makes a difference"

---He studied Business Administration and Management at Esade.It was the natural path. I liked the business world and everything that can be achieved in it. Decisions must have impact and transcendence. For tangible things to happen. I had it very clear: head and heart guided me there.---He started working at Arthur Andersen.I spent some time in consulting and this allowed me to get to know very different realities within the food world. It was a great learning experience. There are common things among different sectors: relationships between people, decision-making, or team management.---He signed with Albert Heijn.Albert Heijn is the leading supermarket chain in the Netherlands. It has a share of close to 30% and belongs to Ahold, which is a global distribution holding company with a presence in the United States and Asia. I started working in the purchasing department and understood what the relationship with suppliers was like and how projects were developed. I saw the birth of the organic product purchasing area.---The Proust's Madeleine effect.The first time I came face to face with organic products was in 1997, when I still didn't know that food had so many different ways of being produced or grown. ---Why did you go to Holland?There was an agreement between Caprabo and Albert Heijn to create ajoint ventureand develop a project in the Spanish State. They wanted someone from the Caprabo family to have both the native and adopted culture. However, thejoint ventureit did not prosper and I returned to Barcelona.---He joined Caprabo in 1999 to launch online sales.---Imagine how long it took for a web page to load in 1999! I entered the sales area to open the storeonline. To buy online? You had to have a lot of guts... In 2001 we got the project off the ground and it was very successful, reaching 1,000 orders a day. It became the storeonlinenumber 1 in food in all of Spain.

"Routine, continuity, and doing the same thing always bore me. I am the same person on Monday as on Sunday, and I like small impacts."

---What has been your ikigai?If it transforms, I do it. If it doesn't transform, I'm not interested. I am passionate about what transforms, makes a difference, has an impact, and changes reality. I wake up thinking about what I can do differently and better. I get bored with routine, continuity, and doing the same old thing.---To be, to think, and to do differently.I like small impacts in both personal and professional life. I am the same person on Monday as on Sunday and I like to live that instant after the change. It's great luck. And I'm not talking about saving the world... Small impacts.---Why did you decide to found Veritas more than 20 years ago?-It's myikigaiI need to do something different and transformative. I knew the food sector, theretailand the supermarkets and I met Carles Torrecilla, who is a classmate of mine. He told me that there was a market study at Esade on the phenomenon of organic food in the United States and Europe. We took a trip around the continent and saw that there was an opportunity.

"Organic products are a path, but they have never been an end"

---The opportunity for "the best possible nutrition" and responsible consumption.I mentioned it at home, they gave me all their support and my mother told me to go ahead. Without fear. In 2002, four Catalan families got together, we formed a company in January and in May we already opened the first store in Plaça Artós in Barcelona. A historic store, the first of the eighty we have today.---What is your model?---We used to have small, neighborhood stores when we were the only ones selling organic products, but now we need a superior and much broader offering because there are organic product corners in supermarkets. Today's type of store has nothing to do with that of 20 years ago, and the project is more alive than ever. ---What is your vision?Organic products are a path or a tool, but they have never been an end in themselves. Why go to Veritas?---You will say.We want a world where food is a source of health to have a sustainable planet that continues to give health to people and living beings. What is the best way to do it? Organic food. If you treat it as an end, then you are only addressing militants and activists. Life is very complex and not everyone can carry the backpack of a planet food activist.

"We want a world where food is a source of health to have a sustainable planet"

---Consciousness is the seed of change.Everyone has their life and everyone chooses their causes. We do not ask people to save the planet, but we do ask them to join us with organic food, which is the best product that exists. Organic certification is the minimum, and from there we can also add social justice, climate justice, and emotional ties with long-distance products. We want to anticipate with a vocation for impact.---Let's go to the root of the organic product.An organic product is certified by a very strict European regulation that determines how to grow, process, elaborate, and package a food. If the product comes from livestock, then how the animal is treated is also valued. Each category has its particularity, but as a fundamental generic principle, synthetic phytosanitary products are radically prohibited.---Radically forbidden?We are talking about synthetic fertilizer derived from petroleum, which are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). Natural seeds will be used, and not NPK fertilizers, which are unfortunately used in most agriculture. Synthetic treatments to prevent pests or fungi increase pressure on the crop. We must listen to the earth.

"An organic product is certified by very strict European regulations that determine how to grow, process, prepare, and package a food"

---Listen to the earth.The soil must be very healthy for the fruit and vegetable plant to grow well. The extensive but not intensive principle should be applied in the case of livestock.---Listen to animals.Animals with grass, freedom of movement, and much more restricted veterinary treatments. Antibiotics cannot be given preventively to a calf or a chicken, but they do it because they fear a widespread contagion if one of them gets sick. This does not happen with organic farming.---What does the law say?The law says that six months before slaughter it is forbidden to give antibiotics to animals and that this antibiotic does not reach the person. However, it is proven that meat develops antibiotic-resistant bacteria and you are indeed eating that. The vast majority of food additives (the Es) are prohibited. All these regulations must be complied with and we guarantee that the organic product has a superior taste. ---How?We work the soil with more dry matter and less water, without stressing the plant with synthetic products. Many of the pesticides used contain endocrine disruptors that alter our metabolism.

"Women who follow an organic diet are 25% less likely to suffer from breast cancer, according to a French study"

---How is the relationship between food and health?In 2019, a study was conducted in France where 70,000 people (80% of whom were women) between 40 and 60 years old were monitored and given questionnaires about their diet over 10 years of their lives. The results? Women who followed an organic diet had a 25% lower probability of suffering from breast cancer. It seems logical that if you eat a clean product, you shouldn't have to fight against foreign substances...---More than a decade ago, IESE recognized him as "one of the most influential young entrepreneurs under 40."---It surprised me a lot! I was the only one who wasn't in the telecommunications or technology sector, but I already liked to transform, change, and redefine the rules of the game.---What errors have allowed you to advance?I have a collection of errors of all colors: strategic, operational, conceptual, people... Or market reading. It is impossible not to make mistakes and for that reason, we turn them into lessons and learning. If I could go back now...---What would he do?I probably would have done things differently with some people. It is also true that the decisions we have made have brought us here. Would I like to be in a different place? I don't think so.---For example?One of the brakes on the consumption of organic products was the distrust about the taste. Many people thought 20 years ago that organic products were not good, they associated them with dietetic products and perceived them as a sacrifice to take care of health and save the planet. However, organic products are much better in general terms and that is why we believed it was necessary to open restaurants where people could try the product...---From the supermarket to the plate. And vice versa?---It was a colossal mistake! The rules of the restaurant game have nothing to do with supermarket management. There were many headaches that led us nowhere. People didn't leave the restaurant and go to the supermarket. The type of consumption has nothing to do with the moment of consumption. We said enough is enough and started to grow as a company, without restaurants. We lost a lot of money.---What is the secret to success?What is success? Veritas is a solvent company with 80 stores and a turnover of more than 110 million euros. It pays salaries and is financially sound. This is an economic success necessary for continuity and makes the company viable. Even so, the fundamental success is to ensure that our purpose and our transformative vocation have a space in the market and that thousands of families follow us.---What is the price of success?Being so strict with the observation of purpose reduces our speed. We are always ahead of society, administrations, and regulation. For example, we decided to distribute free menstrual products in supermarkets, and I am convinced that this will be a legal reality within a few years. We hope that more companies will join this movement. ---What else drives Veritas?We have a transformative vocation through food and we have paid above all an entrepreneurial price. No one doubts the honesty of Veritas and what we do in our supermarkets after 20 years. It is not easy to build a solid brand that enjoys the trust of its customers. We will never be criticized for being a pose, a fad, or a lie.

"We are always ahead of society, administrations, and regulation. We decided to distribute free menstrual products in supermarkets"

---No washing...Trust is the most valuable asset we have and it is only achieved if you are very rigorous and make decisions that are not focused only on sales or immediate performance, but on the long term. It is part of the success and the toll of going a little slower because we want to go further.---What would you ask the Administration for?Organic food is the best solution to the climate and public health emergency. In fact, it is the only food recognized by the European Union that is capable of mitigating climate change. The EU's goal for 2030 is for 25% of European crops to be organic. This is the strategyFrom farm to fork.

"Organic food is the best solution to the climate and public health emergency, which is why I propose it has 0% VAT"

---From farm to fork.Today we are at 11% and we must reach 25%... It will be very difficult because consumption is not accompanying. EU measures are very focused on production and very little on the value chain. Therefore, production, regulation, transformation, distribution, and consumption must be incentivized.---How?---0% VAT for organic food, as will soon be done in Germany. VAT is a tax that rewards or incentivizes consumption, so essential products to mitigate climate change should have a super-reduced, or zero, VAT. VAT is very educational and would allow reducing the difference between organic and non-organic products.---What impact would a 0% VAT have?If you analyze the consumption of organic products in Spain, there are 2.5 billion euros, that is, 2.5% of the total 100 billion euros of the household food distribution market. Thus, the impact would be much smaller for the Treasury's coffers than what has already been done with the VAT on oils, eggs, or fruits.---Any other measure?Financing and bank loans. You ask for a loan from the bank and all companies have the same conditions, it doesn't matter if your business is ecological or fossil fuel-based. The cost of credit for companies that favor the EU objective could be subsidized by half a point. The entire value chain must be incentivized, not just production or the farmer. What's the point of making an organic apple if there's no market to sell it afterwards?---How do you see the city of Barcelona?I am in love with Barcelona, but I am concerned that the city does not know how to find its place. We have been a bit lost. I would like the world of commerce and public service to be heard a little more. We need Barcelona to be a city of commercial continuity and not a city of neighborhoods or ghettos. We could also talk a lot about mobility...---Let's talk.We are in favor of non-polluting mobility, but without isolating neighborhoods. Why don't we implement an electric motorcycle policy like Shanghai's? It would greatly reduce noise pollution and emissions. We must encourage and not just punish. I am no expert, but there are things that have room for improvement.

"I would like the Administration to listen a little more to the world of commerce and public service. We also lack greater involvement from companies"

---And trade?The public administration is always behind civil society. I believe a lot in free competition and in the evolution of business models. They have always denied me permission to put a table next to the supermarket so people can have a coffee.---To have a coffee with the Administration.Barcelona is the only city in Europe that prohibits so many things. Why? So as not to harm anyone... And that stagnates us, but we keep going. I would like to have a specialist category like butcher shops or delicatessens that have great potential for commercial development. The municipal ordinance considers the supermarket as a generalist, but we do not limit ourselves to a product category, but to a typology.---Specialist vs. generalist.I have never achieved it. Trade has no excuses with the Administration, and if it does, they mostly have to do with deadlines. It cannot be that we take so long to do everything! Months and months to open a supermarket... This would not happen with a responsible declaration, with agile interlocutors who are not afraid to say yes.---Fear of saying yes?It is the culture of risk: people are afraid to say yes. Thenoit's easier. There have been so many cases of indictments for things done wrong… In contrast, the San Francisco Administration prefers to ask how to help you. That said, Barcelona is a wonderful city and we are very satisfied even if there are things that could be improved.---Is more and better public-private collaboration needed?Yes, but on both sides. I have also found a very collaborative Administration in many different places, although not all parties have the same openness to public-private collaboration. The fault is not always with the Administration; sometimes we also lack greater involvement from companies. ---The previous interviewee, Francesc Julià, asks you the following questions: 1. What are your maxims when it comes to building a benchmark premium brand?Honesty, consistency, kindness, and impact. Consistency is fundamental to building an honest brand, and the market cannot be misled with opportunistic or confusing messages. One must have a long-term vision and follow the compass, even if temptations arise. I am a lover of kindness.---Kindness.The world is better with kind people who make themselves loved. And who doesn't want to be loved? I would love for people to love Veritas and follow our project beyond supermarkets.---Brand and community building.There is areason whythat accompanies the values. I remember one day they brought us a poinsettia and told us it was organic to sell it. I asked: what would we transform by placing these Christmas plants in people's homes? There was no answer. The organic product is a minimum, but it is not enough because it also has to transform.2. How do you see the future of food?There is a blurred line between consumption inside and outside the home, between the supermarket and restaurants. People want to cook less at home because they have less time, so we will need trusted providers. Trust will become increasingly important, while there is also the trend of price and savings.---What are the main trends?There will be more products with more visible attributes regarding health and environmental responsibility. Society will be more demanding and what stands out today will tomorrow only be a standard. Lessgreenwashingand more authenticity.

"Before we apologized, but now we are very proud and happy not to have oranges in August"

---More authenticity.---It surprises me a lot that a supermarket chain that sells less than a hundred organic products among its thousands of products has checkout bags that saybio. That is, it only sells 1% of organic products, but it positions itself asbio. If this is notgreenwashingWe do not want to pass all the responsibility to the client.---The game of supply and demand.Yes, but we only give one option that transforms, and that means that in my house the change is sure to happen. The rest is also very legitimate, and the client is given all options to make their choice. Before, we apologized, but now we are very proud and happy not to have oranges in August. It's a month for eating watermelon, melon, apricot, peach... No oranges! This is the price we pay for being rigorous with our purpose. We surely make mistakes every day, but we have a will to impact. We go slower, but we sleep very peacefully.

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SEVEN OF LIFE:

1. Role Model: My father, my mother, and Nelson Mandela.
2. Book: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.
3. Movie: Any movie starring Gene Hackman.
4. Song: Says by Nils Frahm for my current stage.
5. Favorite spot: Any inhospitable corner of the world where I feel small. Home is where the heart is.
6. Life motto: Better to illuminate than to shine. To shine is to look towards the ego, and to illuminate is to inspire and serve.
7. Dream: To be fortunate enough to have good health to share a lot with my children.