Better Thinking Brings Sweet Rewards to Confectionary Manufacturer

Auckland, 3rd February 2012 - The international confectionary company behind the popular Mentos and Chupa Chup sweets has this month received the same coveted Herrmann International Whole Brain® Thinking award that was awarded recently to Telecom New Zealand.

For the past two years Perfetti Van Melle USA, the world’s third largest confectionary group employing over 17,000 people, has been putting Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Thinking framework to work throughout their business, and the results are paying off.

Perfetti Van Melle joins such companies as IBM, Microsoft and Telecom New Zealand in receiving this award, which honours organisations that are applying Whole Brain® Thinking in a systematic way to tap into their collective brainpower, solve tough business challenges and optimise everyday operations.

Wayne Goodley, Managing Director of Herrmann International New Zealand, says the food industry is incredibly competitive and food manufacturers need to leverage their mental resources to enhance creative thinking, problem solving and bottom line results.

“Thinking drives behaviour, so when organisations can build the thinking skills of their employees and apply the Whole Brain® concept in every aspect of the business, like Perfetti Van Melle has done, they will get better results across the board—from sales to teamwork to leadership,” explains Goodley. “That’s why we say it’s the key to outthinking, outpacing and outperforming the competition.”

Ralph Chauvin, Vice President of Sales at Perfetti Van Melle says there are a lot of management tools and approaches that are available but nothing compares to Whole Brain® Thinking. “It is the best in the marketplace for applying thought processes to drive business results.”

Whole Brain® Thinking has become part of the culture at Perfetti Van Melle.

“Our employees are making better decisions, collaborating more productively, and forging stronger connections with their colleagues and customers,” he says. “It’s had an impact on everything we do as a business.”

The Whole Brain® system includes the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) thinking styles assessment and other learning and business tools that can be embedded into the organisation. Perfetti Van Melle is being recognised for turning the Whole Brain® approach into a way of doing business, using the tools and skills to come up with better ideas, communicate more effectively, solve problems faster, and even improve relationships with vendors and suppliers.

Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO of Herrmann International, presented the award to Chauvin, Brenda Gumbs, Executive Vice President of Human Resources & Communications, and Ronald Korenhof, Perfetti Van Melle USA’s General Manager/President. The company’s senior leadership has been actively involved in implementing and supporting the initiative.

Local companies and organisations using Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Thinking and HBDI® tools include: Air NZ, Nestle, Fonterra, Telecom, Ministry of Education, Auckland Council, Westpac, Zespri, Cerebos Greggs, Kraft, Goodman Fielder and others.

About Herrmann International

The originator of the Whole Brain® system and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) thinking styles assessment, Herrmann International works with organisations around the world to help them put their full brainpower to work to outthink, outpace and outperform the competition. The company’s Whole Brain® Thinking framework, which includes a variety of learning solutions, facilitation resources, job aids and business tools, has helped nine out of ten of the Fortune 100 harness their collective intelligence to sell more, spend less, innovate faster, and develop and retain the best talent.

About Perfetti Van Melle

Perfetti Van Melle USA is headquartered in Erlanger, Kentucky, where it produces and/or distributes Airheads, Airheads Xtremes, Mentos and Mentos gum. The company is part of the Perfetti Van Melle Group, a privately-owned international manufacturer and marketer of sugar confectionary and chewing gum. Perfetti Van Melle is the third largest producer of confectionary and gum in the world, and sells its many brands, including Mentos, Chupa Chups, and Fruittella in more than 150 countries.

ENDS

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