Eric Schut, CEO of food manufacturer Ojah and supervisory board member: ‘Each of us should solve a small part of the world’s problems’

What is your toughest entrepreneurial dilemma?
Speed versus carefulness. Every role I have taken on came with a sense of urgency. You are only brought in when something needs fixing. But carefulness matters too. You need to stay true to your company’s values and to your people. In one of my first CEO roles, I presented a plan that required investments. I remember a shareholder saying: so you want me to pull out my credit card right now? A typical shareholder reaction. With that money he could also buy a nice house or a boat. That was when I realised I had moved too quickly and that this involves real money. If you take people along properly in the process, they will never ask whether they should pull out their credit card. They will understand why a new machine is needed, or they will suggest it themselves. So I always try to explain very clearly why we do something.

What is it that you actually do here?
We make plant-based chicken from two ingredients: soy and water. And it tastes so good that you would not notice there was never an animal involved.

I had never heard of Ojah.
That is understandable. We mainly supply private labels. Our brand launched around the same time as The Vegetarian Butcher. One of their first products was vegetarian chicken, and it came from here. Ojah stood at the foundation of a new phase in meat alternatives. Our background lies in technology and innovation. We focus on producing vegetarian chicken. Building a brand is a completely different discipline.

Does replacing chicken with plant-based meat have the greatest impact? Beef is far more polluting.
I think the point is that we all need to become more sustainable. You can do that in many ways. By taking public transport. By buying an electric car. By consuming differently. And for one of those areas we have found a solution. Are we solving the world’s problems? No. But we can solve a small part of it. And that matters. As leaders, managers and consumers, we should all solve part of the problem. We tend to think that eating meat is something we are entitled to and that something is being taken from us if that changes. I believe we need to show that a plant-based product can be tasty and healthy too.

What keeps you awake at night?
Food availability around the world. It hurts to see that food is not accessible to everyone, and it is distressing when hunger is used as a political instrument. And I lose sleep over the global market. Until COVID, I always thought: the food sector will simply carry on. But the pandemic changed everything. Raw materials suddenly became unavailable. Ports closed. Factory workers fell ill. The entire chain spun out of control. I still lie awake over that, because the crisis was followed by wars. In Ukraine and the Middle East. And now we are in a situation where President Trump can turn the global economy upside down with a single tweet.

Is the plant-based meat industry under pressure?
You see that some leaders in power now fuel this anti-woke sentiment. That does not exactly encourage sustainable living. But it is temporary. Ups and downs are part of a market that is still developing. You saw the same with electric cars. Ultimately, we know that we will have to travel more sustainably. And we will have to consume more sustainably too. That trajectory will continue. I see it with my children. My daughter has to calculate the CO2 impact for every assignment in her studies. We only started doing that a few years ago, but for her, it is entirely normal. My children have no problem with eating vegetarian food or buying clothes on Vinted. They grow up with it.

What was your first job?
Dishwasher in a restaurant in Naarden-Vesting. That is where I learned what hard work is and what money means. And that is where my love for food began. I was washing dishes in one corner of the kitchen, and in the other corner were the chefs. One Christmas I suddenly received a call: hey Eric, with your big mouth saying you can do anything, the assistant chef is ill, get over here. So that is how I ended up in the kitchen. I was struck by the quality and by the passion of those men and women who could turn a few ingredients into something beautiful. In the end, it all comes down to quality. And that passion has never left me.

What is the best leadership advice you have ever received?
It is not about knowing. It is about enabling. One of the CEOs at FrieslandCampina told me this when I worked there. I thought it was brilliant. I see the same at Ojah. Many people here know how to operate the machines and how to approach customers. My role is to make that possible and to connect people, so they can grow.

How do you do that?
I learned that from my mother. She was always genuinely interested in people and had a big heart. She created space for everyone and taught me to listen to what people are truly trying to say.

What do you do when your direction clashes with someone else’s?
I try to avoid that. Otherwise, you end up with a moment like that shareholder saying he could also buy a boat with that money. That means I have not explained properly what we are doing. If I impose a measure, for example, that we must produce less waste, people will follow it for a while. But if I explain that our company is built on sustainability and that we need to keep an eye on costs, people find their own motivation to reduce waste. That takes you far further.

Which career did you never pursue?
Shoes. My father worked in the family business, Schut Schoenen, which later became Schoenmarkt. When I was in my mid-twenties, he called me. He never called. My mother always did. And he said: I have sold the company. That hit me. Later, I asked him: Dad, why did you do that? He said: as a leader, I have the responsibility to give my people a future. And he felt that my brother, sister and I needed to shape our own futures. He had not had that opportunity. And he said: if you have the qualities to take over a company of this size, you can do that without me.

What did you learn from that?
Firstly: keep communicating and stay open. I did not swear, but I certainly had my questions. And at the same time, my father had a point. He saw that my passion was not in shoes, but in food.

Do people ever see you as a rebel or a troublemaker?
At Friesland Campina I was once called streetwise, and I think that is fair. I know what is going on with customers and with people. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family; we always had to work for our money. Wherever I worked, I always got the jobs that required rolling up your sleeves. And I notice the same here. I work on strategy, on big plans and on investments. But there is also the daily operation. If the chicken machine breaks down or if the customer does not like the product, you can be sure that Eric is on the factory floor figuring out what needs to be done.