One by one, news stories are surfacing that are waking consumers up to the fragility of the globalized manufacturing chain. In China, melamine-tainted milk was responsible for six babies dying and some 300,000 cases of kidney infection.
In Canada, the federal government recently placed on its list of toxic substances two silicon-based chemicals widely used in shampoos and conditioners.
And every week, more peanut products are added to the list of those contaminated by salmonella, in a recall from the Peanut Corporation of America. (As of February 9, 2009, that total now includes 1790 products, including some which are labeled ‘organic’ or ‘Made in Canada’)
These statistics represent tragedies, for individuals, families and innocent companies just trying to succeed in a ‘competitive’ world.
But they also represent an opportunity for every business that has gone the extra mile to understand and secure their supply-chain or processes.
Because, no matter how tight their budgets, people will not knowingly take a chance with their families’ health.
So if you can stand behind every ingredient in your products, or every process in your service, you have a recession-proof point of difference. And you should market the heck out of it.
Of course, care must be taken not to make it a negative smear campaign against a competitor. But there is certainly nothing wrong with saying ‘we’re doing it right’.
“If you don’t know the source of the food that contains peanuts, don’t eat it.” Says FDAs Dr. Stephen Sundlof in the video: Do’s and Don’ts During the Peanut Salmonella Outbreak:
So where are the ads that say ‘we know what’s in our peanut butter’?
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