Yesterday, we received the 2026 Mercè Sala Award, the highest distinction presented at the Fundació Factor Humà Awards, during a ceremony held at the Museu Marítim-Drassanes in Barcelona. The event brought together more than 450 executives and professionals from Catalan and multinational companies. This award recognises not only Noel’s business results but, above all, a people management model based on stability, development, proximity and commitment to the local community.
The 2026 Impacta Awards were also presented during the event. The project “Innovating in People Management: a model based on expert units and bridging roles”, by Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, received first prize. It was followed in second place by the “Flexible working model” developed by the Fundació Pasqual Maragall and, in third place, by the project “Horizon 2025: a shared vision” by Grup Bon Preu.
Under the slogan “Want to make an impact? Go viral for a cause”, the ceremony invited us to reflect on the role of influence within organisations and on how it can be exercised responsibly, consistently and with purpose.
— Recognition of our growth model
We were founded in Olot in 1940, our headquarters are located in Sant Joan les Fonts and we are present in more than 60 countries. Yesterday, we received the 2026 Mercè Sala Award in front of more than 450 professionals from Catalan and multinational companies gathered at the Museu Marítim-Drassanes in Barcelona.
The jury of the Factor Humà Awards, comprising representatives of organisations belonging to the Fundació and leading professionals from the business, institutional, academic and people management fields, recognised our track record and evolution. We have grown from a small artisan charcuterie workshop into one of Spain’s leading food groups, with a turnover of €664 million in 2024, while maintaining our strong local roots and family business culture. The company is currently led by the fourth generation.
Through this award, which recognises organisations aligned with the values of a human-centred approach, innovation and global vision, the jury sought to highlight our growth model, based on our commitment to people, professionalisation, product diversification, internationalisation, technological innovation and social contribution.
According to Anna Bosch, President of Noel Alimentaria, the award “recognises a way of understanding business that forms part of our identity: growing without losing our roots, innovating to become more competitive and sustainable, and maintaining a genuine commitment to people and the local community. At Noel, we have always believed in the importance of giving back to society part of what it gives us. We are a family business with more than 85 years of history, but we are also an organisation that looks to the future and seeks to generate a positive impact beyond its business activity.”
— One of the leading employers in La Garrotxa
Our team comprises more than 2,700 people, and we are one of the main economic and social driving forces in La Garrotxa, Girona. A total of 98% of our employees have permanent contracts, while 100% of our workforce is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. This forms part of a people management model focused on stability, professional development and proximity.
In the area of talent development, we have created Noel Academy, our internal training academy. In 2024, it enabled us to provide more than 55,000 hours of training to over 1,700 people, with an investment exceeding €1.4 million. We have also developed internal communication tools such as Noel One, opportunities for dialogue with management and wellbeing initiatives such as La Cantina, our corporate dining space, as well as adapting collective transport services to employees’ working shifts.
Diversity is another defining feature of our model. Our team includes people of up to 51 nationalities, and women represent 42% of our workforce. We also have active equality and inclusion protocols, and 100% of our management team has received training in equality and diversity.
In 2026, we received Great Place to Work certification, reinforcing our position as a leading employer. We have also obtained the “Verified Gender Pay Gap” certification awarded by AENOR, which confirms that we effectively apply the principle of equal pay for women and men and that there are no gender-based salary differences.
— People, innovation, sustainability and social commitment
More than 2,700 people, 55,000 hours of training and a strategic commitment to technological innovation, sustainability and social responsibility reflect our approach to growth.
We have positioned innovation as one of the main drivers of our model. We promote projects focused on the automation of production lines, the implementation of digital sensors and the digitalisation of processes, with the aim of improving the efficiency, traceability and quality of our products.
This strategy is complemented by the development of new preservative-free products, the promotion of more sustainable packaging and collaboration with technology centres, universities and European programmes. We also work to reduce the environmental impact of our operations through measures related to energy efficiency, water management, waste treatment and the incorporation of sustainability criteria throughout the value chain.
Giving back to the local community is another of the pillars that contributed to this recognition. Through the Fundació Albert Bosch, we promote research into medical, biomedical and surgical solutions for different diseases, particularly childhood cancer, in close collaboration with Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona.
Through the Fundació Maria Rosa Sans, we provide scholarships to enable young people from La Garrotxa with strong academic abilities but limited financial resources to pursue university studies. Through both foundations, we extend our social commitment beyond our business activity.
— A ceremony focused on responsible influence
The ceremony, hosted by Catalunya Ràdio and 3Cat journalist Elisenda Carod, reflected on organisations’ ability to mobilise people and generate impact through consistency, purpose and responsibility.
During the event, José Miguel de la Dehesa, Director of the Fundació Factor Humà, presented “Human Horizon”, an initiative aimed at promoting more human-centred organisations, as well as the study “Human Horizon: the state of humanisation in organisations in 2026”. The ceremony also featured institutional representatives and a talk by David Aguilar, known as “Hand Solo”, an international figure in innovation and personal achievement.
Dr Antoni Esteve, President of the Fundació Factor Humà, closed the event by highlighting the importance of generating knowledge, building partnerships and moving towards more human, responsible and sustainable organisations. The ceremony concluded with several performances by Beat & Loop Show and a networking event in the gardens of the Museu Marítim-Drassanes in Barcelona.
The full ceremony can be watched at this link