Dead rats, frozen fingers and crises of confidence: What must a brand do?

In the last few days, some disturbing accounts of contaminants in food have surfaced on the news.

A part of a human finger in Yummo ice cream, a dead rat in Hershey's chocolate syrup and a frog in a packet of Balaji chips are just a few of these examples.

Besides the obvious implications on public health, an instance like this can be highly detrimental to the trust that consumers have on a brand and the overall brand perception. 

Over the years, several FMCG brands have been in this situation, and have shown a whole range of responses from denial to campaigns to rebuild confidence in the brand. Some of the most well-known brands have battled this, and many have come out on the other side much stronger.

We asked some experts to outline the ideal way to handle these crises of confidence, and they all agreed brands must proactively communicate and work on course correction.  

Such challenges become more critical in the FMCG, healthcare, and F&B industries due to the direct impact on consumers, believes Strategic PR & Communications Consultant Anup Sharma. Talking about how the brand should address the issue, he said “If the issue has been highlighted in public domain then the brand's communication should be swift, transparent, and empathetic supported with some hard data points. The brand should acknowledge the incident if it has been raised to them - directly or through mass / social media - and express their concern.” 

The statement itself should also highlight the overall safety measures being followed by the organisation and reassure consumers about the quality of other products from the same batch, he further said. He gives the example of how Cadbury (now Mondelez) handled the situation when some consumers allegedly found worms in their chocolate in 2003. 

To reassure their consumers, Cadbury's team worked on an aptly named campaign called Project Vishwas, (meaning Assurance) which worked on multiple levels including upgrading manufacturing processes, improving their packaging, educating their trade partners and retailers on transportation and storage. “These initiatives were showcased through various media interviews, articles, and demonstration trips. They also ran an advertising campaign featuring Amitabh Bachchan to rebuild trust. While it took some time, the overall approach helped Cadbury regain trust and the market share,” he said.  

For any brand facing a similar crisis, Sharma has a simple advice: The tone of all communication should be of concern, seriousness, responsibility and most importantly, empathy. The organisation can apologise if at fault (proved) and be firm but not defensive if the incident appears isolated. 

Business strategist Lloyd Mathias who has been the marketing head of brands like Pespi, Mototrola and HP insists that distancing themselves from the situation using legalese and putting blame on a third party like a vendor does not do a brand any good in such situations. According to him there are two key things to handle such crises, one to address the issue fairly -acknowledging and apologising for the lapse while spelling out correctives - and two, putting in place proper systems to avoid recurrence, and communicating this to consumers. He feels that accepting errors in a dignified manner while assuring course correction is a good way to gain trust of the consumers.  

A good example of a brand managing its public perception, as per Mathias, ICICI Bank distancing itself from the controversy that their former CEO Chanda Kochhar was involved in vis-a-vis loan sanctions to an industrial house. “Though the board's initial hesitancy in ordering a thorough inquiry didn’t go down well, the subsequent action against the former CEO has helped the bank tide over the issue to a large extent,” he stated. 

Brand consultant Nisha Sampath noted that it is a big mistake to not talk about or acknowledge an incident where some negative news about a brand comes up. While depending on brand ambassadors and PR teams is all good, she believes that in today’s digital era, it makes a lot of difference when the company’s CEO, board members and other higher officials engage directly with people to address their concerns.  

“We are at a stage where consumer cynicism about brand claims and advertising is at its peak. This makes transparency in a crisis situation all the more important. Communication and confidence building measures need to be taken up at every touch point. For example, in the FMCG sector, the distributor network, stockist and even the kirana shop owners need to be taken into confidence as loss of trust has a domino effect across the network,” said Sampath. 

As per Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the responsibility of such contaminations in the FMCG sector often lies with the manufacturer rather than the brand, informed Abhishek Sarwate, CEO and Brand Strategist, Utopian Drinks. However, customers place their trust in the brand so they should take a more proactive approach to establish a crisis communication team. 

“This team should have pre-drafted templates for press releases, social media posts, and customer service scripts to ensure consistency and speed. The brand must swiftly issue a public statement across all channels, acknowledging the issue and outlining the initial steps taken. Engaging with traditional media is crucial; thus, preparing spokespeople for TV and radio interviews ensures accurate and reassuring messages are conveyed,” he said. Monitoring and responding to social media in real-time helps manage the narrative and misinformation, he added.

When asked about an example of good crisis management by a brand, Sarwate spoke about the 2015 incident when Maggi found itself in a soup due to excessive lead and MSG levels in the noodle. He recalled how while facing a nationwide ban and public outcry, Nestlé promptly recalled Maggi from shelves and conducted extensive testing to verify product safety. “They communicated openly with consumers, authorities, and media channels, providing regular updates on testing outcomes and compliance measures. Nestlé's thorough approach, coupled with a rebranding campaign emphasizing safety and transparency, ultimately led to Maggi's successful return to market and reinstatement as a trusted household brand,” he said.

While there are several examples of how things should be done, there are many examples that show one exactly what not to do. Shailendra Jain, a Bret Wheat Endowed Professor of Marketing and International Business at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington and Shalini Sarin Jain, an Associate Professor of Management and the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Milgard School of Business, University of Washington have documented some of them in their book ‘Managing Brand Transgressions: 8 Principles to Transform Your Brand’. 

The authors give the most recent example of MDH spices after three of their spice blends were banned in Hongkong and Singapore, alleging the presence of 'ethylene oxide'. MDH has denied the use of ethylene oxide "at any stage of storing, processing, or packing our spices." “A denial’s effectiveness is arguable considering that it is often viewed as knee-jerk and self-serving. If it works, it is likely only when the brand has incontrovertible evidence of no wrongdoing. Even under such circumstances, accumulating evidence takes time, and the narrative can morph unrecognizably in the meantime even if the company is not at fault,’ they said.