Dear NKG family,

In this issue, the guiding topic is Change. We live in a world that has quickly become more complex and insecure in many ways, and the challenge of thinking forward and attempting to plan for the future has become more daunting very quickly in the past year. It often seems difficult to stay optimistic and positive.

But still, we have much to be proud of and to look forward to. NKG has the immense privilege to deal in coffee and coffee only, a consumer good with high resilience to much of what is going on and unbroken appeal to consumers of every kind and everywhere. We may not take this for granted, and it is not a given. Neither is our strong market participation or the fact that we have been able to continuously offer safe and gainful employment. More than ever, we need to fairly fight for our business by being better, more competitive and more agile every day. We are committed to doing this and we are committed equally to those who actively join us in turning challenges and threats into opportunities and strengths.

NKG needs growth to support our network and enable us to maintain our structure and setup. This may look like a “tall order” in todays environment, but exactly this situation continues to present possibilities and potential for those willing to take it on while acting responsibly, transparently and with foresight.

With my colleagues on the Board of Management and with management in each and every NKG company worldwide, I continue to be unconditionally committed to serving for the development and success of NKG as the only large merchant dedicated solely to our wonderful product coffee. As long as we continue to treat it well and with respect, it will continue to be good to us in turn, even if more complex.

In this Connected, we will show you some of the support topics we have been working on and will continue to elaborate to drive and develop our business. As always, we depend on your thoughtful feedback and input to develop these and other important issues.

I hope you enjoy NKG Connected, and I wish you healthy and peaceful days in these challenging times.