Name: We Sat Down With Tyson Foods New CEO
Uploaded: 2017-03-03
Duration: 3 min 51 s
Description: Here’s what Tom Hayes had to say.

Tom you just announced that Tyson is no longer going to use antibiotics in chickens, what made you decide that? It's the right thing to do, the consumer wants it that way, and I belive also, it's just a better overall approach. There is a lot of complexity around antibiotic resistance, but certainly in animal agriculture it's an issue and we should tackle it. So decision was made, we can do it. Lets get there, its gonna be hard work, but, its the right thing to do, so lets grab unto it. But why now? Consumer groups have been pressuring the companies to be, um, to go antibiotic free, for a long time. Why now? The reason why now, is that where we can, we've been able to push ourselves to get there. And it's a new day really for our next stage of growth. We feel like that's gonna be a key element, is doing those things that are the most important to our consumers, but also the right things for us to do at Tyson. As you know, people want clean food, fresh, organic, no preservatives. How important is this for Tyson? It's really important. The consumer does want A fewer ingredients. They want more transparency to where the food came from, how it was manufactured. So for us, it's absolutely very important. One of the things that we feel very proud of is we have great consumer insights that sort of give us the feel of to say how should our innovation be structured, what should we doing ?. And having cleaner labels is absolutely a consumer desire. Is red meat next up for no antibiotics, no preservatives? So is the balance as well in terms of what the consumer would want and also what they are going to pay for, right? So there is a lot of work we could have done to make sure we have accessible, affordable food that we can deliver at scale. It's probably too soon to ask you this because you had been at the CEO job Just for two months now. But what are the plans do you have? What is your strategy for? It's actually not too soon. Team has been working hard against us for about six months. And the strategies is on two platforms. One is to continue to be a leader and the branded proteins based. So sustainably deliver Protein pack foods and do it with a branded approach and focus on making sure the consumers excited about what you're doing. Why is that? Why is that important? The reason why we love our brands is that it represents trust. The consumer wants to develop an emotional connection to that brand. And when they do they're loyal to it and they put a trust in us we put faith in making sure that we're continuing to do the right things for them, and so that's the reason why we wanna make sure it gets more branded focused because that is a way for us to say it is endorsed by Tyson and it's something that we stand behind So do you see acquisitions fitting into this new strategy? Absolutely. What kind? You know that could be acquisitions of any sort, use your imagination, but I wouldn't go beyond protein [ LAUGH ]. What does that mean? That means it could be anything protein that's animal based protein, plant based protein, anything that has a protein element to it. Something that is nutrient dense. That's what we're looking for today. We wanna make sure we don't overpay for acquisition, of course. But it's in the protein space we're gonna be focused. Do you have something in mind? Are you already on the prowl for a acquisition? We're already on the prowl. We've been consistently on the prowl. We wanna make sure we do something that's smart. We don't wanna be Doing something that's too quick and not being thoughtful about whether or not there are synergies we can take out of it to make it financially attractive investment for us and our investors. But we are on the prowl. With all the changes that you're making, what do you want people to say about Tyson two, three years from now? So two years from now, ten years from now, I would like the public to think this is a really good company and that as a big company they're having an impact on just making the world a better place. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]