• What has the company been accused of?
The Russian subsidiary of the French company was accused earlier this week of sending Christmas food parcels to soldiers. Photos circulating on social media show Bonduelle brand cans accompanied by a greeting card reading “Dear Soldier, Happy New Year! We wish you all the best and a speedy victory.”
In a press release, the company denied having sent these packages to Russian soldiers: “this information, as well as the statements attributed to the Bonduelle company and its address, are totally false.”
• What is the “package of goodness” program?
In the numerous online accusations against Bonduelle, the packages allegedly sent to the soldiers are referred to as “kindness baskets.” Bonduelle claims to participate in this program, but it is not intended for soldiers, according to her:
According to Bonduelle, their participation is reduced to “donations of products to an NGO, a member of the network of world food banks.” Donations that are not in the form of individual parcels. It is then up to the food banks to make packages for the beneficiaries, which not only include branded products.
The northern company claims to know the traceability of the products that are delivered “to poor populations and retirees.”
• Is the head of the Russian branch a former FSB employee?
The message of the congratulatory card addressed to the Russian soldiers circulating on social networks is signed by Ekaterina Eliseeva, current general manager of Bonduelle’s Eurasia branch and present on the company’s executive committee.
Once again, Bonduelle formally denies that this message was written by the leader.
Ekaterina Eliseeva is also accused of being a former member of the FSB, the current KGB. If Bonduelle acknowledges that the current manager stepped there, it was “to follow a training course as a translator”, a job she exercised before resuming studies in logistics and working in private companies such as Unilever or Danone, as this article in the Russian edition reports. from Forbes.
• Is the company still present in Russia?
If certain French companies, such as Danone, Renault or, for example, Sodexo have announced that they want or have left Russia, Bonduelle has not closed any of its activities in the country since the start of the war. The company has three factories there and employs around 1,000 people. Bonduelle defends this choice through its “food mission”, explains its spokesperson, which is to supply food “to the 146 million Russian consumers but also to the 90 million consumers in neighboring countries, such as Georgia, Azerbaijan or Belarus”.
Source: BFM TV
