Post-Consumer Recyclate: How to get organisational buy-in – The Vorwerk Case

How do you get organisational buy-in for sustainable initiatives?

In this episode, Nhung Kieu, Head of Sustainability at Vorwerk Group, and Michael Kroh, Fellow Materials Engineering and Sustainability Officer at Vorwerk Engineering, share how Vorwerk increased the use of recycled plastics in products such as Thermomix and Kobold vacuum cleaners.

Based on Vorwerk’s experience, we discuss how organisational support was built across engineering, procurement, and management.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• What drove Vorwerk to increase recycled content and position sustainability as part of the business strategy.
• Which barriers had to be addressed, including quality perceptions, pricing constraints, and internal skepticism.
• Which factors help to create both sustainability impact and economic value. 

Listen now to get a practical perspective on how circular initiatives gain traction inside organisations by aligning technical feasibility with business and organisational realities.

This episode is part of the “Recycled Plastics form Premium Brands” series, sponsored by HolyPoly.

Video Impression

People

Michael Kroh, Materials Engineering and Sustainability Officer at Vorwerk Engineering.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-kroh-72626b169/

Nhunh Kieu, Head of Sustainability at Vorwerk Group
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nhungkieu/

Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
05:02 Usage of Recycled Plastic in Vorwerk’s Products
06:29 Motivation for Improving the Share of Recycled Materials
09:46 Sustainability as Integrative Business Strategy
11:51 Barriers to Increasing Recycled Content
15:24 Premium Pricing Considerations
17:05 Strategies for Gaining Stakeholder Support
21:52 The Role of Communication in Sustainability
26:48 Outro

About

Vorwerk is a German family-owned consumer-goods group known for high-quality household appliances, built around direct sales and long-term customer relationships. Founded in 1883 and headquartered in Wuppertal, Vorwerk focuses on durable, premium products such as Thermomix multifunctional kitchen machines and Kobold vacuum cleaners.

The company emphasises innovation and reliability, combining engineering, service, and maintenance concepts to keep devices in use for many years, and it increasingly integrates sustainability by improving energy efficiency, using more recyclable materials, and aligning its product design and operations with circular-economy principles.

Further Links

https://www.vorwerk.com

Transcript

[00:00:00] Introduction

Nhung Kieu: You need to be able to answer that question, what’s in it for the colleagues, for the stakeholders, for everyone in their language, so that they really can see that sustainability is a growth opportunity that they can rally behind.

Patrick Hypscher: My name is Patrick Hypscher, and this is Circularity.fm, the podcast about understanding, building and managing circular business models. Welcome back to our series on recycled plastics for premium brands. We are exploring how to overcome the challenges of mechanical recycling of plastics in long lasting products. This series is sponsored by HolyPoly. HolyPoly turns untapped waste into reliable industrial raw material sources. In the last episode, I talked to Fridolin Pflüger, co-founder and managing director of HolyPoly. Fridolin provided insights into the market dynamics of recycling and how to make the process work. Today we hear how Vorwerk gets started. Vorwerk is a German premium brand and a worldwide leader in direct sales of high-quality household devices. So before we go into detail, I want to give you a bit of context. Vorwerk is a highly popular brand. For more than 140 years, Vorwerk has been an internationally active, family-owned company focused on improving life at home.

The flagship products are the Thermomix and the Kobold vacuum cleaners. Since generations, they are part of many households in Germany, Europe and the world. The first kitchen machine has already been sold in the 1960s. Today, the products are IoT enabled. The latest Thermomix models are connected to the Cookidoo app that comes with more than 100,000 recipes. So, let’s continue and focus on the physical products and the recycled content. He studied mechanical engineering and holds a PhD from University of Stuttgart. In the last 16 years, he had various roles at the IKT, Stuttgart’s Institute for Plastics Engineering. At the University of Wuppertal, he’s teaching students the fundamentals of polymer engineering. Furthermore, he is with Vorwerk for 10 years already, where he held various positions in the engineering unit. Right now and since two years, he is Fellow Materials Engineering and Sustainability Officer at Vorwerk Engineering. Welcome Michael!

Michael Kroh: Hi Patrick, nice to meet you here. Thanks for the introduction.

Patrick Hypscher: And we have a second guest. She studied business administration, holds an MBA in Sustainable Business Development from ESMT Berlin. She started working as in-house consultant at BASF before joining PwC’s sustainability practices. Since almost one year, she is Head of Sustainability at Vorwerk. Welcome Nhung!

Nhung Kieu: Thank you very much, Patrick. Good morning.

Patrick Hypscher: With the Thermomix, Vorwerk is producing a famous kitchen device. Michael and Nhung, what are your favorite Thermomix recipes?

Nhung Kieu: Actually, I’m pretty new to the cooking experience with our latest Thermomix generation, the TM7. This weekend, I just cooked so much food for myself and my partners. And one of my favorite recipes that I tried so far is the butter chicken. So the nice thing about it is that Thermomix and also the Cookidoo recipe database allows you to also make your own tikka sauce and also the spices, the garam masala spices as well. So, supposedly it’s a 20 minutes recipe if everything was ready. At the end it took me three hours because I made everything from scratch because I was so excited to try different functions with the Thermomix, yes. But it was a lot of fun.

Patrick Hypscher: Nice, sounds delicious. Michael?

Michael Kroh: Yeah. Besides the fact that I really love to cook by my own, which is one of the stereotypes when cooking with the Thermomix, but I really like the risotto, Mediterranean one, which I get to know in Milan on a business trip in Italy. Also with porcini mushrooms inside and served with maybe some salmon or just the risotto itself. So I really love this. And yeah, it really is a nice way on also saving time if you are in a hurry. So a Thermomix is cooking beside, and you can organize your kitchen or whatever. That’s really calming down me a bit in the evening.

[00:05:02] Usage of Recycled Plastic in Vorwerk’s Products

Patrick Hypscher: I couldn’t agree more on the Risotto since we also have a Thermomix for a couple of years and I really love the Risotto. Our focus in this series will be about recycled plastics. To start off, can you give me an overview what’s the current state and level of recycled metals and plastics in Thermomix and also Kobold?

Michael Kroh: Several parts of Thermomix and Kobold, which are actually consisting recycled material. Let me give you an example before coming to numbers. An example, the lower housing of the actual TM7 is made from a so-called post-consumer ABS with 70 % of post-consumer content. Also, the lid is made from a sustainable bio-based polyamide. taken from region’s seeds. Of course, the Kobold system uses recycled elements as well. For instance, the handle is containing or is made from a PP with recycled carbon fibers. you know, carbon fibers have a very high carbon footprint. So it’s a good way to use these once more. And by the way, it was a nice example of having a very light white material in this handheld Kobold or vacuum cleaner.

[00:06:29] Motivation for Improving the Share of Recycled Materials

Patrick Hypscher: Nhung, what drives you to improve the share of recycled materials?

Nhung Kieu: For Vorwerk sustainability is an integral part of our business strategy 2030. And it is one of the growth drivers. So it’s not just a strategic priorities of values, but we identified it as a growth driver for Vorwerk in the next five years and in many more years to come. And within this framework of sustainability program 2030, circularity is the area in which we would like to differentiate.

Because we believe that this is an area where we have unique strength in the best in class innovations as one of the experts that you see here today from Michael. This is a representative, a very strong representative of the engineering capacity innovations, product development capacities that we already possessed. The second part, why circularity can be unique for Vorwerk is because of our integrated supply chain or value chain. Because I think comparing to other peers in the market, we are one of the few manufacturers that have quite a strong integrated vertical supply chains, backward and also forward. So basically we are having the full control of the suppliers in which we’re onboarding into our manufacturing process.

We control many of the parts in which we produce ourselves, as Michael has explained, or give examples to. And also we take full care of our sales channels and also take care of our advisor community, which have a direct contact to our consumers. So this is a very, very unique strength for us. So in this way, we believe that we can deliver maximum sustainability impact and at the same time also maximum economic contributions to Vorwerk Group as well. And in circularity among many exciting initiatives and pilots that perhaps we save for another episode because today we talk about sustainable materials. So the area of sustainable materials is one of the key areas in which we are exploring for both environmental and also economic benefits. We are so close to the end consumers.

And sustainable materials is a little bit of a unicorn at the moment, because this is something that from an industry, from the value chain of the industries, they are very much innovation and excitement and movement, but towards the consumer ends, there’s still a lot of space for raising awareness, for raising excitement, for raising curiosity as of why we all need to move towards more sustainable material alternatives and not relied on fossil fuel based one anymore. And of course, this is not an easy mission, but this is something that we believe, again, having a direct selling community of advisors and consumers that we are so close with, we can multiply the positive impact on this area.

[00:09:46] Sustainability as Integrative Business Strategy

Patrick Hypscher: Right, so you emphasized at the very beginning that for you sustainability or for Vorwerk sustainability is an integrative part of the strategy. Can you maybe elaborate more what that does mean in contrast to any other, let’s say, forms of sustainability strategy?

Nhung Kieu: Yeah, absolutely. So as you mentioned before, I have background in other companies as well as in consulting as well. So I have seen sustainability strategy in many different forms. One of the early forms of sustainability in many corporates is what we call value-based. So this is when a company made a statement that sustainability is one of our values in which how we act.

which is a very good first step, but of course it’s not concrete enough, another tool to make sure that we can follow up with all of the forces and investments and the budget that we have in the company. The second form of sustainability strategy is yes, it is formed as a strategy, but it’s on the side of the normal business strategy cycle. So this is…

already a big improvement from value-based sustainability concept, but at the same time, because this is not planned within the business cycle, within the whole business strategy cycle, then there is a mismatch in terms of expectations. Also, as we know it in every company, budget planning cycle and also target setting cycle. many of my former clients

Of course, already a few years ago, there must have been improvement to have a sustainability strategy. Still on the side strategy might face this particular challenge. take all of those challenges and lessons learned. Vorwerk have sustainability as part of the business strategy to overcome those challenges specifically.

[00:11:51] Barriers to Increasing Recycled Content

Patrick Hypscher: At the same time, can imagine there are quite some barriers associated with that. So what are the barriers you’re facing there when it comes to increasing also recycled content?

Michael Kroh: Two main things to consider. One’s of course, is the price. You won’t pay, I think more for a Thermomix, just for having a more sustainable alternative. think that’s the point. The second point, it is these stereotypes. If it comes to recycled material, a stereotype, recycled plastic is by its nature a bad quality. So it’s not. So you have to teach what is mechanical recycling? What are the consequences? is the potential of having this material? There are also bio-based materials or even mass balance approaches or the chemical recycling. So there’s a broad diversity of using sustainable materials with the same or even better quality and the

additional feature like it is more sustainable. So this you have to teach first and then you are able to sell it more easier or even more you have a sales push for our advisors that they can underline. Look, we have not only a high quality device, we have a long lasting device. It’s even more, it’s sustainable. So it’s you are doing something good for your children, nature, for this planet in a holistic view.

Patrick Hypscher: Nhung, anything to add? We’re talking barriers, so I can imagine it’s easy to spot barriers.

Nhung Kieu: Well, would say that there is a matter of persuasion and there’s a matter of time. So of the two key barriers that Michael already mentioned, the perceptions of what sustainable material is and how is it comparing to the current fossil-fuel based materials is something that both need persuasions and time. And this is, of course, both an opportunity and a barrier because it needs time. This is just what it needs. And I think this is something that I see a lot of professionals in sustainability, myself included at times, and I’m sure Michael too, is a little bit of having more patience in the topic.

Having more patience to explain the topic once again, or to talk with another advisor, to talk with another colleagues, to draft the message a little bit more crisp, a little bit more concrete, so that it can be easily understood by someone who might not have worked years in sustainability, so that when they read it, when they hear about it, they can associate themselves with the message, they can easily understand why, and they can support of what we are doing. So I think it’s not a barrier per se, but it’s more like something that we must practice patience, time, and persuasion.

Patrick Hypscher: And this sounds to be relevant both for internal stakeholders, but also for external stakeholders or customer communication.

[00:15:24] Premium Pricing Considerations

Nhung Kieu: I think the important part that Michael has mentioned is a little bit of the pricing strategy or the premium pricing already for their products. We usually have a very interesting analogies that we use, like when it comes to apples. So many of the survey about sustainable products out there always indicate that the customers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products.

which is of course true. For instance, if you have a conventional table apple versus organic apples, of course it costs more and the customers are willing to pay more for it. But Vorwerk Thermomix and Kobold are not organic apples. We are Japanese farmed, grown apples. So which means that the precision, the technologies, the care, and the passions from both our product side and our advisor sides that have been put into this product is premium. So there is no higher that we can go in this particular area. So this is what we call the premium truck in which, of course, the perceived value of any innovations in sustainable materials and everything else that we put our efforts, our budget, et cetera, into, it might not really further increase the commercial values of the product because we already have the highest range possible.

[00:17:05] Strategies for Gaining Stakeholder Support

Patrick Hypscher: So you mentioned a bit the strategies how to educate internal external stakeholders, but then you also have to prove it kind of. So how do you deliver on that promise? How’s your approach?

Michael Kroh: It’s simply just testing recycled materials, offering them to, for instance, the management board or the product management to show them how it works. And of course there are several steps to go. For instance, if it comes to the, to the injection molding process itself. So you have to somehow convince the guys that the mechanical recycled grade is a bit more sensitive to treat or to process. For instance, if it comes to impurities, if you collect it from the WEEE feedstock, so there are some metal impurities, for instance. Now we have to find a commitment between supplier processing and quality department just to align that we have the best quality possible with those materials, of course.

And as you mentioned, several drives do different projects. So I think we have considered more or less all the parts in our devices. Are they feasible for using a sustainable material? Or do we have, for instance, to change the design in total? Maybe for the next generations we are planning or we are developing

to integrate it directly from the beginning of the planning process, including the learnings from the actual approaches right now so that we have a more easier way to integrate it. We’re trying to integrate it from the baseline into our devices and guaranteeing the same quality and performance of the materials.

So once again, we try to show internally and externally by pilots and also by doing a good networking. So I’m also giving speeches, lectures internally. We call it the “Doc Crow Show”. That’s what our CEO is naming it. Just to teach all the aspects and present the effort of the colleagues they did in the past and actually doing to present it to our advisors, management board and politics, also customers to show, look what we are doing. Think about it. What is the next step in using recycled materials? So like Jung mentioned, it’s a thing of patience. Sometimes I’m compared to be a marathon runner in terms of sustainability. You have to be very patient. You have to wait sometimes a bit longer, especially if it comes to a pricing conflict when the sustainable material is just a bit more expensive compared to the virgin grades for instance.

Patrick Hypscher: Do you feel any additional pressure on sustainability motivated projects to deliver on the promise and prove that? Or is it similar to other projects you do or have done in the past?

Michael Kroh: I would say yes, it is a bit less easier compared to virgin grades, but it is possible. And we have several success stories in terms of using alternatives in terms of bio-based materials, for instance, or recycled plastics or even using components once more. So it is a growing strategy, but it has to be more normal to use recycled material or sustainable materials in general.

Patrick Hypscher: Yeah, definitely. You saw a couple of companies also based on your past experience. Can you share some additional, let’s tricks and techniques, how to help the skeptics within the organization? Because, I mean, we’re still talking about how to get started, how to move on. And of course, there are valid concerns by colleagues that are not so familiar with the technological processes behind it. From your experience, how to address these challenges and keep going and get support for these pilots.

[00:21:52] The Role of Communication in Sustainability

Nhung Kieu: So I see now clearer and clearer that actually I am in people business. In my past, when I started my sustainability career steps a long time ago, I thought what is important for the role is to have a very strong technical background, like calculating carbon footprint, understanding the social science.

to also have a knowledge on the business side and the regulatory framework. Don’t get me wrong, all of those are important foundations for the job. But the more you work and the more you integrate it into the organizations, what I realized what makes the big difference, the real difference is a curious and collaborative mindset and also the ability.

to translate these very complex and also quite new sustainability concepts, technology, the why of sustainability into each and every colleague’s languages, or even the stakeholders, like not just colleagues, but the consumers, they advise us languages so that they can understand it. That’s the first steps. And then they can support it because obviously,

everyone in the back of their mind will have an obvious question, what’s in it for me? So sustainability is the same. You need to be able to answer that question, what’s in it for the colleagues, for the stakeholders, for everyone in their language, so that they really can see that sustainability is a growth opportunity that they can rally behind. So for me, it’s a long realization to get to this point, but really it’s so important in sustainability that you’ll be able to speak different languages.

Patrick Hypscher: True, And Michael, what is it for you? You mentioned the “Doc Crow Show”, is it that? What are you doing on the people organizational side to win colleagues?

Michael Kroh: Well, yeah, it’s more a bit a funny naming of my activities and it’s not only my activities in person because it’s always the result of a teamwork, so to say. We have really engaged people in the supply chain, the purchasing department, Technicom, and the injection molding shop and it wires us and so on. So it’s a huge company with different people working on it.

Yes, you can summarize it. Maybe it’s, it’s then better in your mind doing the Doc Crow Show. What does it mean actually? So it’s presenting our activities because if you don’t talk about them thing, then nobody will recognize. So even if it’s successful, even you have saved some carbon dioxide, even you have saved some money by using a cheaper recyclate, for instance. And if you don’t talk about it, then nobody will learn from. So that’s a bit internally my mission, to highlight the work and effort of the colleagues and also of my team, the material department, together with our strategic approaches, what is good, what is sexy using sustainable materials and not only looking like, this damn ESG reporting, we have that effort with no benefit, we have to provide data and statistics.

The other thing is the responsibility, not only for our devices, it’s the responsibility for this whole little blue ball circling around the sun. So we only have one. There is discovered some other, but I think the, the traveling is a bit more complex than using recycles in our Thermomix for instance. So I think that’s a bit the, the mission and every little step helps. You have to be passionate.

You have to use all your energy in bringing every little step forward in being more sustainable. So that’s the driving factor. And just be more, a bit more sustainable. It is not totally changing your way of living, the way of producing parts. It’s just integrating small steps, just changing the mindset, bringing the more positive aspects in front, think that’s the, that are the little steps, which I try to, at least in my network with the Doc Crow Show.

[00:26:48] Outro

Patrick Hypscher: Wonderful. No, Michael, thanks for helping the little blue ball and thanks for talking about it at work and also in this show. Thanks.

Michael Kroh: Yeah, it was a pleasure. Thanks for having us.

Nhung Kieu: Thank you for having us, Patrick.

Patrick Hypscher: This was the second episode in our series on Recycled Plastics for Premium Brands. In the next episode, we will hear from Bosch Power Tools how they explore the technical feasibility and customers’ desirability of recycled plastics in power tools. Let’s drive a profitable circular economy. And please don’t forget, the most abundant renewable resource is your imagination. My name is Patrick Hypscher and this is Circularity.fm, the podcast about understanding, building and managing circular business models.