The Comeback Program With Danone North America’s Surbhi Martin

Alan Hart

4 years ago

Nearly 1 million women have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic in February 2020. This staggering statistic is why Surbhi Martin, vice president of greek yogurt and functional nutrition at Danone North America, and her team have launched The Comeback Program.

In this episode, Surbhi and I discuss Danone’s Light + Fit yogurt brand and their focus on helping women reacclimate to their careers after taking a break. Being one of the biggest B Corps in the world, purpose-driven marketing leads the charge for Danone’s marketing strategy. The Comeback program aligns not only with its purpose but with the mission and values of the company’s consumers.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

All About Light + Fit’s ‘The Comeback’ program
What a B Corp is
The importance of purpose-driven marketing to connect the dots between company purpose, product, and consumer needs

Key Highlights

[01:35] Surbhi’s career path
[03:20] What is a B Corp?
[04:25] What Surbhi’s role entails
[05:16] Light + Fit’s The Comeback program
[06:47] Origination of the program
[08:11] Partnership with Women Back to Work
[10:10] Previous partnership with Dress for Success
[13:31] Impact and throughline of overall marketing efforts of Danone through purpose-driven marketing
[19:32] An experience that defines Surbhi
[23:06] Surbhi’s advice to her younger self
[23:41] What Surbhi as a marketer, is learning more about
[26:10] Books Surbhi is reading now
[30:13] The biggest opportunity or threat for marketers today

Resources Mentioned:

Danone North America
B-Corp
Light+Fit Brand
The Comeback Returning to Work Program
Women Back to Work – an organization helping to design the program
Dress for Success Support through new flavors
Two Good brand – equal parts go to people in need when purchased
Sustainable Brands and co-founder KoAnn Skrzyniarz | KoAnn on Marketing Today
Book recommendations from Surbhi: Principles by Ray Dalio, Originals by Adam Grant, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard, Bhagavad Gita translated by Hari Chetan
Alan’s recommendation: When More is Not Better by Roger Martin

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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.