>>transparency builds trust - Andrew Cowan, sales director, GlaxoSmithKline Nutritional Healthcare
Trust is the most important ingredient for all of us. Trust brings people into supermarkets, informs selection of products and enables brands to sit in consumers’ homes. Trust, for brand owners and retailers alike, is the foundation of our licence to operate.
The recent report by CIES - The Food Business Forum on the impact of food retailing on society and the economy provides the latest evidence that we need to do more to nurture this trust. The lack of comprehensive data to prove the often intangible value of retailing to society represents yet another opportunity missed by the industry to reinforce trust.
Food scares abound in the media almost daily - from legacy issues such as BSE and salmonella, through to more recent specific product problems such as Dasani water and Scottish salmon. As a result, we are under ever greater pressure to demonstrate responsibility and transparency.
An EU report, Trust in Food, published earlier this year, stated that the UK came top in a European index that measured consumer trust in food. But there is no room for complacency, since beneath this there are worrying trends. Staggeringly, 83% of respondents in the survey believe supermarket chains would not tell the truth about a food scare and a startling 90% lack trust in the food processing industry.
While the British may be the most optimistic in Europe with regard to what they eat, 19% of British consumers still think that farming methods are worsening and 12% believe food safety has deteriorated.
There is a great deal of work to be done by manufacturers and retailers to build consumer trust. It is a shared responsibility that crosses boundaries and has implications throughout the supply chain.
This central challenge is changing the relationship between manufacturers and retailers. To allay consumer fears we need to work harder to demonstrate and communicate world-class standards and best practice. In light of the pressure to build consumer trust, there will be increasing scope for manufacturers and retailers to work together to protect and grow product categories and to share best practice on sourcing, supply chain and quality issues.
After all, when there is a scare story on one brand, this has a knock-on effect on other products in the category. How much does a scandal such as the Perrier product
recall in 1990 affect sales and trust in sparkling mineral water as a whole?
Pressure from consumers and the media for products to be safer has been growing exponentially. Traceability is a good example. Consumers now demand more detail on where ingredients come from and potentially even require information on ethically and environmentally sound production practices.
GlaxoSmithKline has long been aware of the need for traceability in its supply chain. This is why the Ribena brand only uses blackcurrants from UK farms and has a unique relationship with 45 British farmers. This means we can ensure traceability and encourage environmental best practice.
The close collaboration among UK farmers is good for the brand, but it also has
a halo effect - the more the industry is trusted, the greater the benefits for everyone.
Part of this quest for consumer trust is about fostering third-party advocates. For example, GlaxoSmithKline went through a five-month process to have Ribena and Lucozade declared halal under Islamic law. Both drinks were recently declared fit for consumption by Muslims. The company has also had the Lucozade range tested for banned substances, so that athletes can be sure that what they are consuming is safe.
In a society where deference has been consigned to history, trust has to be earned and reinforced daily. This can only be done by demonstrating the overall contribution of the industry to society and through transparency in all parts of the supply chain.
>>p40 Easy target
Trust is the most important ingredient for all of us. Trust brings people into supermarkets, informs selection of products and enables brands to sit in consumers’ homes. Trust, for brand owners and retailers alike, is the foundation of our licence to operate.
The recent report by CIES - The Food Business Forum on the impact of food retailing on society and the economy provides the latest evidence that we need to do more to nurture this trust. The lack of comprehensive data to prove the often intangible value of retailing to society represents yet another opportunity missed by the industry to reinforce trust.
Food scares abound in the media almost daily - from legacy issues such as BSE and salmonella, through to more recent specific product problems such as Dasani water and Scottish salmon. As a result, we are under ever greater pressure to demonstrate responsibility and transparency.
An EU report, Trust in Food, published earlier this year, stated that the UK came top in a European index that measured consumer trust in food. But there is no room for complacency, since beneath this there are worrying trends. Staggeringly, 83% of respondents in the survey believe supermarket chains would not tell the truth about a food scare and a startling 90% lack trust in the food processing industry.
While the British may be the most optimistic in Europe with regard to what they eat, 19% of British consumers still think that farming methods are worsening and 12% believe food safety has deteriorated.
There is a great deal of work to be done by manufacturers and retailers to build consumer trust. It is a shared responsibility that crosses boundaries and has implications throughout the supply chain.
This central challenge is changing the relationship between manufacturers and retailers. To allay consumer fears we need to work harder to demonstrate and communicate world-class standards and best practice. In light of the pressure to build consumer trust, there will be increasing scope for manufacturers and retailers to work together to protect and grow product categories and to share best practice on sourcing, supply chain and quality issues.
After all, when there is a scare story on one brand, this has a knock-on effect on other products in the category. How much does a scandal such as the Perrier product
recall in 1990 affect sales and trust in sparkling mineral water as a whole?
Pressure from consumers and the media for products to be safer has been growing exponentially. Traceability is a good example. Consumers now demand more detail on where ingredients come from and potentially even require information on ethically and environmentally sound production practices.
GlaxoSmithKline has long been aware of the need for traceability in its supply chain. This is why the Ribena brand only uses blackcurrants from UK farms and has a unique relationship with 45 British farmers. This means we can ensure traceability and encourage environmental best practice.
The close collaboration among UK farmers is good for the brand, but it also has
a halo effect - the more the industry is trusted, the greater the benefits for everyone.
Part of this quest for consumer trust is about fostering third-party advocates. For example, GlaxoSmithKline went through a five-month process to have Ribena and Lucozade declared halal under Islamic law. Both drinks were recently declared fit for consumption by Muslims. The company has also had the Lucozade range tested for banned substances, so that athletes can be sure that what they are consuming is safe.
In a society where deference has been consigned to history, trust has to be earned and reinforced daily. This can only be done by demonstrating the overall contribution of the industry to society and through transparency in all parts of the supply chain.
>>p40 Easy target
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