The man from Mars talks digital, diversity and staying relevant

Bill Heague’s extensive career with Mars has taken him all over Europe, most recently to Ireland where he managed Mars’ Irish multisales business.But when an opportunity opened up at home last year, Heague answered the call. As Mars Food Australia general manager he has been faced with numerous challenges in his first year, from the impact of bushfires to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. “I landed in mid November, just as the bushfires were flaring up, which was a stark reminder of what it means to be Australian and how precarious it is sometimes, our relationship with nature,” Heague told Inside FMCG.“And to see how much we help one another through those times was heartwarming and reassuring.”Heague only had about three months physically in the office before virtual work life began. Only essential workers stayed on site at Mars Foodservice’s manufacturing facility in Berkeley Vale on the Central Coast; everyone else was asked to work from home. Fortunately, being part of a wider global organisation they were able to leverage learnings internationally to keep everyone healthy and safe while continuing to play their part in the community. “Our mantra has been to keep feeding the nation. And especially those moments at the height of April when we were going to grocery stores and seeing holes on shelves, which was frustrating at times, if we could play a small role in making sure that our products were still available on shelf, then you know that was our contribution to try and help everyone through the moment.”With the closure of many food service businesses as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, Mars Foodservices poured its resources and people into the retail side of the business. Brands like Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio were in particularly high demand at this time, and with raw materials in short supply costs began to build. “A lot of the cost in the supply chain, like bringing forward the demand of our raw materials a bit sooner, has currency impacts, it has air freight impacts in some instances as well. You’re buying some of those raw materials at different prices than what you expected because you’re getting through them a lot quicker than what you thought,” he said. Changing eating habitsOne of the long-term outcomes from the pandemic is an increase in people eating and cooking at home. Heague is eager to take advantage of that shift through product innovation across the food brands. “In July we celebrated 75 years of Masterfoods, which is an amazing milestone. When you look back over 75 years and see how much the product portfolio has changed you realise the responsibility we have now to create the change of what that portfolio will look like in the future,” Heague said. “As people are looking to incorporate more vegetables in their diets we are looking at how herbs and spices can play a part to add natural flavour there, so that’s part of our thinking. We’re seeing this trend of customisation of flavours as well. We’re always looking to keep our customers excited and engaged because they know we’re playing a more and more relevant role in their lives.”Berkeley Vale is the third site for Mars Foodservices in Australia since acquiring the MasterFoods business in 1967, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in the plant over that time. “We’re continually adding new technologies to the portfolio. The ready-to-eat rice used to be imported from the UK, we invested in that six or seven years ago and then we’ve upgraded that investment in the last couple of years as well. We’re always looking to add new technologies where we can to fulfill consumers’ needs for relevant products. We believe in local manufacturing. It’s something that Mars holds dear around the world that we make where we sell.”Digital engagement This year we’ve seen major food brands, most notably PepsiCo in the US, move quickly to provide an e-commerce offering to consumers. While Heague said he is “fascinated” by the opportunity digital holds, he is not convinced it is the best option for the sale of Mars Foodservices products. During the pandemic, MasterFoods ran a “dinner hack hotline” where a chef answered nightly requests from consumers about what they should cook with the ingredients they have at home. “We ran that for a week, it was far more popular than we anticipated so we ran it for another week. We had a little break for two weeks and then brought it back again, just because there was so much demand for it,” Heague said.“That opportunity to use digital to reach our consumers in relevant ways that are meaningful to them is where we’re more interested. Quite frankly, we’ve got some great retailers and wholesalers that we work with here in Australia who are far better at fulfilling the customer’s physical stock requirements than we are, so our direction at the moment is to work with them and help them do that job well.”Moving with the timesGlobally, Mars was one of a long list of brands that came under pressure to reassess their marketing practices in recent months, as consumers worldwide call for an end to racial injustice and discrimination.Mars Inc. said in June that it would be “evolving the visual brand identity” of its Uncle Ben’s brand after listening to consumers, particularly in the Black community.Heague said the move is about staying relevant with consumers and making the right change after consultation with consumers and associates, and “not a knee jerk reaction with good intent but potentially the wrong long-term answer”.“The consumer is our boss,” Heague said. “And our brands only survive and thrive as long as we keep them relevant and up to date with our consumers.”Heague explained that the heritage of the Uncle Ben’s brand is one of a Texan farmer by the name of Ben who was known for his product quality and so that’s why his name appears on the pack.“We’ve got brands that in the context of the past, made sense,” he said. “In fact, that was extremely relevant at the time, but as times change around us we have to constantly listen to our consumers and our associates, and we want them to feel proud of the products that they sell as well.”