Overview

Our mission at Lily’s Kitchen is to make proper food for pets. We produce premium natural food for cats and dogs, including wet and dry recipes and treats. Made with love and full of delicious, nutritious and wholesome ingredients, we believe diet is key to ensuring pets are healthy and happy, inside and out.

At the heart of Lily’s Kitchen is our Paw Print for Progress: an approach to our business which aims to benefit pets, people, and the planet. We are committed to doing the right thing, taking responsibility and making a positive difference, especially when it comes to the people who work to make Lily’s Kitchen a success. We want to make sure that we do what we can to treat people and the planet kindly, while also doing our bit to make the world a better place – however small our contribution.

This statement is our response to the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and outlines our position on workers’ rights and modern slavery. It applies to all parts of our business, and we encourage all our business partners and suppliers to uphold these principles and to adopt similar approaches within their businesses.

What’s in this statement

1. Inspired by Lily

2. Our Commitments

3. Our Supply Chain

4. How We Manage Our Responsibilities

5. Our Track Record

6. Our Goals

7. Feedback

1. Inspired by Lily

Lily's Kitchen was named after and created for an adorable border terrier, Lily. Lily has always been at the heart of our family and even though Lily is sadly no longer with us, she’s the reason that Lily’s Kitchen is still here today. We honour the special relationship between people and their pets - after all, pets are family and they give so much. We want to do the very best we can for them.

When Lily developed a skin condition some years ago, conventional treatments did little to improve her illness. Our founder, Henrietta, decided to try nursing Lily back to health with proper, nutritious, home-cooked meals. Lily soon recovered and never looked back.

After cooking for Lily and nursing her back to health, Henrietta was horrified to discover what regular pet food was made from. So, she worked with vets, nutritionists and farmers to create some very special recipes using natural, wholesome ingredients, with no nasties. Food she was happy to feed Lily and happy to recommend to others.

Today, we make many more recipes and follow the same principles as when Henrietta first started. It all stems from love, and we put that same love into our food.

Actions speak louder than words, and we believe it’s important to really do the things we say we do here at Lily’s Kitchen, without any greenwashing. We also believe in being transparent with our customers. The certification and awards we hold for our recipes and service is one of the best ways to demonstrate the truth in our claims.

We're a small but fast-growing company and we want to punch above our weight, to do what we can to be a good citizen in the world. Doing the right thing, taking responsibility, treading carefully on the planet and making a difference is at the heart of our business.

That is why the welfare of our employees, and of those working in our supply chain, is of the utmost importance to us as a company.

We recognise that we have a responsibility to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking both within our business and our supply chain, and we take this responsibility seriously.

2. Our Commitments

Lily’s Kitchen prides itself in going above and beyond the standard business requirements for employers. Our employment principles are guided by international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the United Nations Global Compact. They are also consistent with our shared corporate values.

Lily’s Kitchen is committed to the following:

1. To making a positive contribution to society by developing and implementing business practices that allow us to deliver financial success while operating in a responsible manner

2. To implementing responsible sourcing principles and assessment across our supply chain. We expect each employee and supplier to conduct all business activities with integrity and according to the letter, spirit and intent of all applicable laws.

3. To fostering open and inclusive workplaces that are based upon recognised worker and human rights, where all employees and partners are valued, engaged and respected in line with our corporate values.

3. Our Supply Chain

Lily’s Kitchen works with an outsourced supply chain, meaning that the farms which grow our ingredients and the factories which prepare our recipes are independently owned. We expect that the suppliers who work with us meet the same standards that we set for our own business.

Before Lily’s Kitchen acquires any new operation, or accepts a new supplier into our production lines, and periodically thereafter, we audit the company to ensure that it is acting in compliance with local employment legislation and Lily’s Kitchen policies.

If we identify that a supplier’s practices do not meet our standards, we will work with the supplier in question to achieve compliance, or in some cases terminate our relationship with them. We reserve the right not to work with any supplier who does not adhere to our principles in the future.

Our ingredients are sourced globally, and we make every effort to source these ingredients as locally as possible, depending on seasonal availability. The farms and suppliers we work with comply with relevant EU and/or local legislation from farm to bowl. Where UK legislation sets a higher standard, we expect our suppliers to meet this.

We work closely with our key logistics partners in the UK to ensure that workers across our supply chain, both within and outside the UK, are treated fairly and with respect. Where required, these key partners have put their own Modern Slavery Statements in place.

4. How We Manage Our Responsibilities

Employee Engagement

All Lily’s Kitchen employees are made aware of all policies and procedures, including this statement on our approach to Modern Slavery. As part of our onboarding process, staff are provided with training on the risk of modern slavery within the company’s supply chain, and how to escalate concerns through our whistle blowing policy.

Every employee of Lily’s Kitchen is expected to adhere to all UK employment laws and to uphold all relevant workers’ rights as outlined above, and is aware of this responsibility. Staff failing to do this may face disciplinary action which could result in immediate suspension or termination of employment.

Reporting

We operate a whistleblowing policy aimed at our employees. Staff are encouraged to confidentially and anonymously report any suspected wrongdoing, including human rights violations such as modern slavery or human trafficking.

All reports are recorded, and issues raised are tracked and monitored. All information is then recorded on the annual Corporate Responsibility report.

Sustainable Working

In our office, we try to cultivate an environment to make our staff feel at home. We provide break out areas with comfortable seating and we stock our kitchen with fruit, snacks and soft drinks to keep everyone going throughout the day. We encourage everyone to take breaks and get out of the office to stretch their legs.

We also offer a range of working options designed to facilitate our team members’ needs, including flexible working, part-time working, and time every week to work from home.

For the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have maximised our flexible working practices to ensure that all staff are equipped to work safely from home. We have regularly kept in touch to ensure that our team is supported while working from home and that individuals have been able to implement a manageable work-life balance which not only accommodates their work needs, but also sustains their personal wellbeing and allows for child- and other care needs. We will continue to work in this way until such time as it is safe for staff to return to the office.

5. Our Track Record

B Corp

Lily’s Kitchen is proud to be one of the founding members of B Corp in the UK, as well as the first pet food company in the world to certify as a B Corporation. We’re part of the B Corp community because we believe in using business as a force for good. Choosing products or services from certified B corporations is a great way to help make a positive difference. The B Corp logo identifies companies who are genuinely acting in a responsible way and having a positive impact on the world.

Happiness Scores

We monitor our employee ‘happiness’ at each performance review check-in. Every team member scores themselves on a happiness rating scale of 1-10. At our April 2019 check-in, our score was 7.5. By October, at our mid-year check-in, our average happiness score had risen to 8.1.

Mental Health Caretaker/Physical Fitness

Looking after and supporting our employees’ mental health is hugely important to us. To provide this support, we have a fully trained Mental First Aider available to offer a listening ear and guidance as needed.

We also provide an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which offers a 24/7 confidential helpline, face to face or telephone counselling, and practical help on a wide range of issues which members of our team may be facing. In addition, our Private Medical plan offers professional support, and we offer ‘Comeback Coaching’ to those returning from maternity leave or long-term absence.

Lastly, as a tight knit team, we pride ourselves on offering a warm working environment in which general support from managers and other colleagues is always available.

6. Our Goals

Our goal this year was to prepare our first ever Modern Slavery statement. The law requires that all businesses with a consolidated global turnover of £36 million per annum must prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement. As a B Corp, we are proud of transparency within our business, and therefore have spent considerable time developing this document in a way which goes beyond our legal obligation to provide our customers and other stakeholders with a clear understanding of our position.

Our commitment for our 2021 statement is to convene a Modern Slavery working group to review our business processes and define goals which will help us to further improve our Modern Slavery record.

7. Feedback

Modern Slavery is a serious issue and one which Lily’s Kitchen endeavours to tackle head on. We hope you have found our statement helpful, but if you have any questions or feedback, please do get in touch with us at hello@lilyskitchen.co.uk

If everybody does their bit, we really can help to make the world a better place.

Thank you for reading,

David

David Milner

CEO, Lily’s Kitchen