Our History of Doing It Right
For more than 50 years, Iceland has been driven by a commitment to Doing it Right:
We are the UK’s specialists in frozen food, focused on providing quality, affordable food for families.
With 30,000 colleagues embedded in communities the length and breadth of the UK, we have been committed to the British high street for more than 50 years. More than 70% of our store colleagues live within three miles of work and keep us in touch with what really matters to their local communities.
The fact that we are family founded, owned and run means we invest for the long-term. Our colleagues, supported by 1,000 Talking Shop representatives – one in every store, help drive our Doing it Right strategy and we work hand-in-hand with our suppliers on innovation to drive positive change.
Through the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation, we aim to use the power of strategic philanthropy to make life better for everyone.
Where it all started
Iceland was founded by Malcolm Walker in November
1970 with a single small shop in Oswestry, Shropshire,
selling loose frozen food.
On a visit to the USA in the 1970s, Malcolm was impressed
by Marriott Hotels’ reputation for great customer service and the slogan emblazoned on their matchbooks: We do it right. Doing it Right became Iceland’s watchword as it took a UK lead in removing artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its own label food in the 1980s, and a global lead in banning GM ingredients and taking action against environmentally damaging refrigerants in the 1990s.
What it means today
Doing it Right now means taking on the world’s biggest environmental and social challenges, led by Executive Chairman Richard Walker, son of Iceland’s founder Sir Malcolm.
Our private ownership allows us to take a long-term view and gives us the agility to lead disruptive action where it is needed, and to collaborate with sometimes unlikely partners.
Our Doing it Right plan is inspired by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which provide a focus for businesses to contribute to a better future for everyone. They are a ‘to do’ list for all of us, to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change in the run-up to 2030.
We support all 17 of the sustainable development goals but we have a particular focus on the six below.
