We talk to the Communications team, part of the Communications and Sustainability department led by Izar Villegas, who listen, translate, and share what is happening in Bergner offices around the world.
Made up of Paloma Lahuerta (Corporate Branding & ESG Communication Responsible) and Alberto Vaquero (Communication Responsible), this team is responsible for keeping corporate communication alive and consistent across all channels, both internal and external. And yes, they are also the authors of this newsletter that arrives in your inbox every Friday.
What projects stand out in your corporate branding work, and how does your team help ensure a consistent brand identity across all touchpoints?
Over the past year, we’ve worked on several initiatives that strengthen our brand identity in a transversal and sustainable way. Recently, we led a restyling of the brand, introducing subtle visual and color adjustments aimed at modernizing our image and aligning it with today’s language, while always preserving Bergner’s essence. These kinds of changes are subtle, but key to keeping the brand alive and connected to its environment.
One of our main day-to-day focuses is ensuring that wherever you go, you experience Bergner. We strive for brand standardization while respecting the cultural specificities of each market. We achieve this through a transversal approach, working closely with all offices to ensure consistent implementation of our visual identity across all supports, from catalogs and packaging to office spaces, digital environments, and international trade fairs.
We have a Brand Book that functions as a living tool, constantly updated. It covers both graphic elements and usage guidelines adapted to different contexts: corporate presentations, internal and external documentation, promotional and editorial materials, digital channels, and social media. It’s updated regularly but always tailored to context without losing global consistency.
Within this framework, initiatives like the 25th Anniversary campaign have been a great opportunity to put these principles into practice. It’s been a significant example of how to strengthen brand identity through a global narrative, bringing teams together and positioning Bergner as a company with history, future vision, and a clear purpose. Our Communications team has played a key role as guardians of narrative consistency and as drivers of inspiration, both internally and externally.
How was the process of preparing this year’s Sustainability Report, and what role does it play in communicating Bergner’s ESG commitments?
Preparing the Sustainability Report is one of the department’s top priorities. From the Communications side, we take responsibility not only for the content but also for the design, aesthetics, structure, and narrative approach. Because the report is not just a technical document, it’s a strategic piece of reputation, transparency, and positioning. While it’s often associated mainly with environmental or CSR content, in its broader conception it covers all key areas of an organization. That’s why it includes not only environmental and social aspects, but also financial, logistics, HR, procurement, regulatory compliance, equality, innovation, and governance information. It is, in short, a complete, structured, and coherent reflection of Bergner’s overall performance and future vision.
This year, we’ve made a major step forward by moving from a simple materiality assessment to a double materiality approach, in line with the CSRD directive. This means we now include not only the impacts we generate, but also the risks and opportunities that ESG factors pose to the business itself. From Communications, we’ve worked to translate this evolution into a clear and educational narrative that’s easy to understand for all audiences, and reinforces our responsible leadership.
Furthermore, the report has become a highly useful tool in our institutional and commercial relations, and plays a key role in our participation in the UN Global Compact's COP progress report. Thanks to its attractive visual design, strategic approach, and narrative coherence, it serves as a solid, credible, and aligned business card that reflects who we are as a company.
What role do tools like internal newsletters and Productivity Tips play in day-to-day internal communication and in strengthening corporate culture?
Internal newsletters and Productivity Tips are key tools for maintaining fluid, effective internal communication aligned with the global strategy. Newsletters help us share relevant messages from leadership, highlight achievements, key milestones, and decisions, and strengthen a culture of belonging through transparency. Productivity Tips (short, useful, and practical content) encourage a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and operational efficiency, always with a relatable tone applicable to everyday work.
Both formats are part of the editorial calendar we manage weekly from the Communications team. This calendar schedules all internal and external communications in coordination with Sales, Marketing, HR, Operations, Finance, and Management, ensuring a coherent and consistent narrative across all channels: intranet, newsletters, social media, corporate website, etc. At the same time, we review key metrics like reach, open rate, clicks, and engagement, which allow us to measure effectiveness and adjust the approach based on insights.
This planning and measurement dynamic helps us not only maintain the operational efficiency of the area, but also strengthen the company’s cultural and corporate narrative. Everything we communicate, from a report to a trade fair or a new market entry, builds the Bergner experience, both inside and out.
What is your day-to-day like in the Communications department, and what tasks do you usually manage in both internal and external communication?
In Communications, we work with a clear purpose: to make sure that everything happening at Bergner is understood, valued, and shared, both within and outside the group. To achieve this, we need to be in constant contact with the teams. We listen, collect, and share what’s going on across our offices.
Our daily routine is an ongoing conversation with the ambassadors of each office. They provide us with key information that we then transform into content for different communication channels. Internally, one highlight since early 2025 is the weekly newsletter you receive every Friday. Externally, we maintain a consistent digital presence through our corporate social media, the group’s website, and our relationships with the media, all done organically, without paid investment, yet yielding steadily growing results month after month.
On social media, we manage the global Bergner Group Instagram account and two LinkedIn company pages: Bergner Group (global reach) and Bergner Europe, which has over 12,000 followers. Since June, the latter also has its own monthly newsletter on the platform, summarizing our main updates. It was very well received, over 1,500 subscribers in its first edition. If you’re not already following it, we encourage you to do so. We also continuously update our corporate website, one of our key windows to the world, with a blog updated weekly. So far this year, it has received over 24,000 visits, mainly from Spain, Italy, and Germany.
Finally, we manage media and press relations: drafting and sending corporate press releases and responding to all inquiries. So far this year, Bergner has appeared in over 50 general and specialized media outlets, including coverage of the 25th anniversary, the Solidarity Market, and our product launches in leading publications like Alimarket and Arthome.
How was the external communication strategy around Bergner’s 25th anniversary conceived, and what impact has it had across different channels?
Telling the story of Bergner’s 25th anniversary wasn’t just about celebrating a major milestone, it was about recognizing a shared history, a journey full of learning, and values that unite us. The project began in September 2024 and will run until September this year. From the beginning, we knew it couldn’t be just another campaign. It had to be handled with care in every detail, and that’s exactly what we did. The response has been outstanding: prominent media coverage nationally and internationally, updated corporate tools featuring the anniversary logo and image, a new version of our corporate video and presentation, everything aligned with this important celebration.
One of the highlights that brought us the most joy was receiving over 15 congratulatory videos from chefs, clients, NGOs, and influencers from countries like Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Mexico. Voices such as Roland Trettl, Stella Menna, Pepe Rodríguez, and Maurizio Ghidelli, partners we’ve collaborated with for many years, sent us their best wishes in video form. None of this would have been possible without active collaboration from the different offices and teams in each country. Once again, teamwork and global communication have made the difference.
The internal newsletter has been one of this year’s key projects. What were your goals with its launch, and how do you evaluate its progress so far?
Launching this global newsletter was both a challenge and a great source of excitement. We wanted each Friday to be a touchpoint for everyone at Bergner, wherever they are. To share what campaigns are running, what’s happening in each office, what products are being launched, and of course, to give you a voice. The response has been fantastic: an open rate close to 50% and growing weekly engagement from people writing to us with ideas, stories, or just feedback on what they enjoyed.
In these six months, we’ve published over 150 stories and given visibility to 27 different teams, from Trade Marketing and Design to the India Marketing team, regional Sales teams, and our colleagues in Vienna.
But the most important thing isn’t just what we share, it’s what we listen to. This newsletter is an open channel designed not only to inform but to connect and hear from you, so we can get to know each other better and feel more and more part of something shared. Because that, ultimately, is what Bergner is all about.
