Today I remembered why brands like Kraft, Nestle, Heinz, Kleenex et al have done so well. It’s because they were trusted. Trusted to deliver a remarkable product experience. The problem is, that what was, remarkable in 1963 is no longer remarkable in 2007.
Their trust was built on being safe, reliable, to have function and form. We wanted to feel confident that our cheese slice was safe to eat, hermitically sealed, made with quality milk, that the factory was clean. But now, that’s just table stakes. Cost of entry. The government has created laws which raise the stakes for remarkable products. This is a good thing. Raised standards on all things makes life better, but it does make entrepreneurship harder.
The problem is that trust has been abused by yesterdays’ heroes. Their products are still safe, but they took out all the good bits to make it profitable. Kraft Singles have reduced the cheese in them to the point that they are officially known as ‘Cheese Spread’ – check the label.
Trust is great, but if we abuse it, we leave the door open for those who are authentic.
Great point – trust is nothing if it’s not sustained. Otherwise, it’s just confederate money.
Did you also know that Kraft put into their peanut butter the minimum amount of peanuts they can get away with before you can no longer call the product Peanut Butter? They are forever looking for ways to cheat their consumers. Imagine if the car industry had taken this approach. It would be like the Flintstones bus.
In this case, Big Whinge appears to be on the wrong train. Kraft PNB contains 85% peanuts. That’s a damn sight better than the Singles cheese content. It certainly compares somewhat favourably to the likes of Nutella that is 55% sugar, and yet has a label showing a shower of hazelnuts. Perhaps their marketing folks forgot to show the main ingredient? “Sugarella”? Nope, it wouldn’t sell. Tell the consumer what they want to hear. The truth would eat away at the bottom line. Spin doctoring should be mentioned as a key ingredient on each and every successful consumer packed food product label. Something tells me that Big Whinge has either eaten too much sugar or is an aggrieved Kraft employee….