Get to Know OV: What Quality Means Across Our Group

As part of our Get to Know OV series, we spoke with Fredrik Nilsson, who represents Quality across the OV Group, about how we connect shared standards, specialist expertise and everyday ownership across our sites and why that matters to our customers. 

One Group. A Shared Foundation. 

OV brings together specialist businesses, each with its own products, processes, customers and expertise. 

That diversity is one of our strengths. 

But when it comes to quality and food safety, there needs to be a common foundation. 

Across OV, we work with shared standards, governance and values, while recognising that the way those standards are achieved may look different from one site to another. 

The aim is not to make every business identical. 

It is to align on what good looks like and what needs to be achieved, while giving our local teams the ownership to determine how those standards are best applied within their operations. 

That balance matters. 

It allows us to combine shared expectations across OV with the specialist product, process and customer knowledge that has been built within each of our businesses. 

Quality Starts With People 

Standards, systems and processes matter. 

But ultimately, quality and food safety come to life through people. 

Everyday decisions. Attention to detail. Following processes. Raising concerns. Taking responsibility. Sharing knowledge. And looking for opportunities to improve. 

Across OV, our sites maintain a close dialogue, regularly sharing experiences, lessons learned and good practices while supporting one another in solving challenges. 

That means knowledge does not have to stay within one site. Relevant learnings can move across the Group, helping us continuously strengthen the way we work. 

For Fredrik, that culture is fundamental. 

When people understand why quality and food safety matter, feel accountable and are empowered to make improvements, quality stops being something that belongs only to a Quality team. 

It becomes part of how everyone works. 

What Quality Looks Like in Practice 

High standards of quality and food safety are expected across all OV sites. And sometimes, that everyday commitment becomes particularly visible. 

Recently, both OV Sweden and OV St Ives achieved AA+ grades following unannounced BRCGS audits. 

At OV Sweden, the auditor highlighted the engagement and knowledge demonstrated by the team. 

OV St Ives also retained its AA+ grade following an unannounced audit at the end of July, with the auditor particularly impressed by the site and the openness shown by colleagues throughout the audit. 

And the fact that these audits were unannounced matters. 

There is no opportunity to prepare specifically for the day. The standards, behaviours and processes need to be part of everyday operations. 

For Fredrik, results like these demonstrate what can happen when collaboration, commitment and a strong food safety and quality culture are already embedded within a business. 

They are fantastic achievements for the individual teams, but they also demonstrate something bigger. 

Strong audit performance is not created by a Quality team working alone. It depends on knowledge, ownership and collaboration across an entire operation. 

High standards are not something we switch on for an audit. 

They are simply part of how we work. 

Why It Matters to Our Customers 

Across OV, we supply safe, high quality products to many large and well known brands. 

Our customers need to know that the ingredients they purchase will meet agreed requirements, perform consistently and have been produced to high food safety and quality standards. 

Our Group approach supports this by connecting shared expectations with the product, process and application expertise held within our individual sites. 

It also allows our teams to learn from one another, share good practices and continuously strengthen the way we work. 

That trust is not created through a certificate alone. 

It is built over time through the products we deliver, the standards we maintain, the expertise of our people and our commitment to continuous improvement. 

Ultimately, it gives our customers something incredibly important: confidence in the partner behind the ingredient. 

Building the Next Chapter 

Our approach to quality and food safety continues to develop as OV grows. 

Looking towards 2030, Fredrik sees an important role for the OV Quality Management Team in continuing to connect our businesses and strengthen collaboration across the Group. 

That includes developing common standards and digital tools, but the ambition is not simply to align systems. 

It is also about developing our people and teams. 

Sharing knowledge. Building confidence. Staying curious. And continuing to learn from one another. 

Technology can help us connect information and work more effectively, but people will remain at the heart of quality and food safety across OV. 

Because maintaining high standards is never a finished job. 

It is something we build every day, across every site, through every product and through the people behind them. 

That is what quality across OV looks like in practice.