Verdèra: communication strategy for a mock brand 🌱

Maria Chiara Venturelli
22 set
Tempo di lettura: 5 min

Aggiornamento: 17 nov

At the beginning of 2025 I attended a training where I was asked to come up with a new purpose for a pre-existing organization of my choice. I decided to repurpose the strategic narrative for an Italian organization producing plant-based products.

Here, I took this simple task to the next level, and used the content and narrative I drafted to come up with communication for a mock brand fully embracing its unique purpose: meet Verdèra.

Verdèra's general Internal Communication's Strategy

Let’s create an internal communications strategy for Verdéra, by outlining its mission, brand pillars and core values, before moving on to its main internal communications channels, how they support Verdéra's goals and company culture.

Verdèra's Purpose and Mission

Internal-facing purpose

Here is the issue: the Italian market for plant-based products is historically difficult to tackle: our rich food tradition, so deeply tied to ingredients of animal origin, has always presented a unique challenge.

However, with the livestock sector using 83% of the world's farmland (while providing just 18% of global calories!) we cannot stand to watch.

This is where Verdèra comes into play. We want to help create a sustainable food future without compromising the yummy taste and heritage of Italian tradition: we provide our clients with plant-based options for burger patties and cheese, cutlets, ready meals, and much more. We make sure that every product represents a greener choice, while celebrating the flavors of our land: thanks to 100% Italian raw materials, vegetables and recipes from our tradition. Nonna-approved! ✅

Verdèra: la tradizione has never been greener

External-facing purpose

Did you know that you can now respect the planet without giving up on authentic Italian flavours?

Let’s start at the beginning. The livestock sector uses 83% of the world's farmland while providing just 18% of global calories: needless to say, the way forward must be sustainable! Verdèra was born from a need turned into a vision: we want to provide you with fresh products all based on plant proteins. But here is the challenge: how can we bring innovation to the Italian dinner table, when our traditional flavours are part of who we are? The answer lies in our ingredients. Using 100% Italian vegetables, raw materials, and recipes from our tradition, Verdèra provides you with Nonna-approved burgers, plant-based fresh cheese, ready-meals and much more: a progressive take on the Mediterranean diet!

Verdèra: la tradizione has never been greener

Brand pillars

Verdèra is fully aware that the Italian market is a tough one when it comes to proposing vegan and vegetarian products. Ingredients of animal origin are considered the core of Italian food tradition, which makes it difficult for the broader audience to be welcoming and open to more sustainable alternatives. This is the issue we want to address and solve.
Our products fully respect and celebrate the Italian tradition. On one hand we produce plant-based essentials such as burger patties (e.g. lentil and rosemary, chickpea and sun-dried tomato), cutlets (e.g. breaded eggplant, mushroom and herb), meatballs (e.g. lentil-polenta, walnut and mushroom, etc.), plant-based cheese (plant-based mozzarella, ricotta-style spread made from almonds etc.). On the other hand, we offer practical and convenient ready meals that celebrate the Italian tradition, such as risotto (e.g. porcini mush asparagus & lemon, saffron risotto, etc.), lasagna (with plant-based béchamel and lentil ragù), parmigiana di melanzane (eggplant layered with vegan cheese and tomato sauce), polenta with mushroom ragù, caponata siciliana (sweet and sour eggplant stew). And much more!
We source vegetables, grains, legumes, and oils exclusively from Italian farms, prioritizing regional biodiversity and short supply chains. By using ingredients that are harvested and processed in Italy (and taking pride in it!) we preserve the identity that defines our products and brand. This approach especially appeals to those who worry that choosing plant-based means giving up the familiar flavors of Italian culinary tradition.

Internal communications strategic goals

Bridging the gaps of remote working

Verdèra has a hybrid work model with offices in various locations. While this allows flexibility, it can sometimes create a sense of alienation or detachment from colleagues and teams. So, time to build community and break silos.

Connecting employees to Verdèra's mission and goals

Let's boost motivation and create a sense of purpose by ensuring employees are aligned to Verdèra's mission and goals - ensuring that the bigger picture of our mission is clearly understood.

Connecting employees to Verdèra's strategy

Core Values

Sustainability: our main value lies at the core of our mission. We care for people and the planet, making eco-friendly, responsible choices in our day-to-day: from the ingredients we select to the way we produce and package our products.
Transparency: this specific value applies both to our products and our communication style: we are open about what we do, how we do it, and why.
Collaboration: there cannot be real change if we do not work together in the name of our shared purpose. Which is why we cultivate (pun intended 😁) a culture of connection, open communication and mutual respect!
Authenticity: we stay true to who we are, to our purpose and our traditions. This is how we ensure products that are both true to the Italian food heritage and to our commitment to protecting the planet.

So, how did we get to this set of values?

Our values shape our ways of working and we must live up to them. Which is why, before outlining the set of core values we engaged employees and asked for their active input in a 3-phase plan:

We organized focus groups, where employees could propose and discuss potential values, until we would obtain a set of 10 values. The focus groups are volunteer based, and in each group we wanted to ensure heterogeneity of gender, age, teams and seniority.
Based on the results obtained in the focus groups, we sent out a company-wide survey for employees to vote for the values they identified in the most.
The 4 most voted values are subject to an in-depth discussion during a company-wide workshop, where thanks to breakout rooms we would elaborate on how each value can be implemented, why and with practical examples. Finally, based on the input and examples collected during the workshop, we created a Values Manifesto and shared it as a blog post on the Intranet of the organization.

Internal communications channels

All channels must work together, eco-system-like, and support the broader overarching strategy and narrative.

*Channel*	*Frequency*	*Tone of voice*	*Main goal*	*Content*
Intranet “Verdéra’s kitchen”	Ongoing	Engaging, informative	Centralize information. It's the go-to hub where teams go to look up information and content. Give teams a space where to share updates, learnings and wins Break silos, bridge the gap between teams and locations.	Company updates, team updates, HR resources, brand materials, policies repositories, office updates, Values Manifesto.
Company News Digest “*What’s cooking?*”	Weekly	Clear, concise, friendly, informative	Keep everyone aligned and updated on the latest projects progress, product launches, and internal initiatives. Make information quick and easy to digest, "newspaper-like", encouraging curiosity, participation, and supporting the broader narrative.	Short news bites, project and product highlights, recognition snippets, links to full posts on the Intranet, event reminders.
Townhall meetings	Monthly	Transparent, informative	Drive strategic alignment and foster transparency (one of Verdèra's core values). Strengthen the sense of community and purpose, celebrate successes, and encourage dialogue between leadership and teams.	Strategic updates, team updates, recognition moments, live Q&A with presenters and management, to foster transparency.
Slack	Ongoing	Informal, engaging	Support day-to-day communication and collaboration. Keep employees easily informed, involved, and connected to the company narrative while amplifying messages from other channels (e.g. blog posts from the intranet).	Reminders, brief announcements delivered across various channels (#verderas-square), (#verderas-innovation), etc.
E-mail	Only when needed	Professional, informative, concise.	Keep everyone promptly informed upon urgent and official communications.	Leadership announcements, relevant calls to action (e.g. IT or HR-related), urgent policy changes, organizational announcements.

Measurement and evaluation

KPI	Measurement Method	Why?
Townhall attendance	Participation tracking	Increase engagement
Employee feedback score	Regular pulse surveys (every 3 months)	Track employee satisfaction, as well as cultural alignment.
Communication and engagement reach	Check analytics dashboards of: 1. Newsletter (open rates) 2. Intranet blog posts (views)	Ensure consistent message delivery and active participation.