New Zealand and Fonterra would come out 'clean' says MTI

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Aug. 14, 2013 - PRLog --  

According to International Strategy Consultants MTI, Brand New Zealand, Fonterra and their product brands are likely out ‘clean’ from the recent crisis of whey protein producing a bacteria that could cause  a rare illness called botulism.

"Product re-calls are an inevitable part of large-scale global manufacturing and consumers are increasingly being exposed to such re-calls across many categories. Think of Coke, Nestle, Toyota, J&J to name some of the prominent cases. What is important is to differentiate between willful sabotage or cheating (like the recent case of Horse Meat labeled as beef in Europe) Vs. genuine mistakes (which the consumer would 'pardon' if the brand is trusted)" said the MTI CEO

Hilmy  Cader went on to explain that a brand is like a P&L where the currency is Trust and therefore  Brand New Zealand, Fonterra and their product brands are likely to have a relatively low impact and a fast recovery period.  He further stated that "From a global perspective, Brand New Zealand has always been a source of highly trusted, clean, safe and environmentally friendly products, with an unblemished track record. Brand New Zealand does not suffer from any sensitive international political perceptions that can impact commerce. (Vs.for example Denmark and the Arab Boycott).  All this means that the Brand New Zealand has a high level of 'Trust' on their 'consumer balance sheet', which can certainly help to withstand the impact from such a crisis. In Sri Lanka, Brand New Zealand has exceptionally high brand equity due to the Anchor Brand."

 

Mr. Cader believes what will assist Brand New Zealand is the approach of their Government in being sincere in admitting and alerting the global consumer on the mistake and have not tried to disguise or distort the truth, which is one of the biggest mistake in corporate disaster management.  He also believes that with the swift action on the part of Fonterra to re-call the products and the opening up of a dialogue with the consumer will certainly give greater consumer confidence. "The sheer strength of the Anchor Brand (based on the trust it has created and delivered to Sri Lankan consumers in the last 30 years) will be the best 'insurance policy' for a Brand in such a turbulent period.  Meanwhile, other brands trying to capitalize on another brand's problems, should note that brands can only be built on one's own strength and value proposition you offer and not by 'preying' on such a crisis" says the MTI CEO.