The Luminary Programme
Company Shop Group (CSG) is the UK’s leading redistributor of surplus food and household products, enabling the biggest retailers, manufacturers and food providers to gain additional value from stock which would have otherwise gone to waste. Its latest venture, and the first of its kind, The Luminary Programme was conceived to deliver mentorship and drive sustainable change throughout industry leaders by reducing unnecessary waste.
The challenge
We were already working with CSG on the development of a new website when the Managing Director approached us with The Luminary Programme. The objective was to deliver a long-term solution to accessing hard-to-reach surplus stock and redistribute it. Company Shop Group had a plan to invite visionary thinkers from like-minded businesses to learn, share ideas, and develop new ways to inspire and influence others.
An online learning and development platform was the perfect medium to maximise this collaborative approach. Using a mixture of toolkits, activities and mentoring, the predominately online platform would give participants the skills and confidence they needed to be the driving force for change within their own organisation.
The solution
The platform needed to be simple to use and easy to jump in and out of, as many of the Luminaries held busy senior roles across major manufacturers and distributors. We worked on the assumption they would be able to spare 30 minutes a week, leading us to include useful functions, such as autosave, and ensured the platform and any previously saved work could be accessed from any device at a time that was convenient to them.
By integrating live zoom calls and a library of recorded calls for Luminaries to view in their own time, we were already in a good place when the pandemic hit, which allowed CSG to continue the programme remotely and fulfil its agreement to launch and run the programme. It’s been extremely well received, winning the Innovation 2021 award at the FDF Awards, which recognise excellence for innovation, competitiveness and talent in the food and drink industry.
Gary Stott
Luminary Programme lead mentor and chairman of Community Shop
