Wall's 'Lincolnshire' Sausages - with meat from Germany & Poland?

On 7 November 2009 The Daily Telegraph reported that ‘Lincolnshire’ sausages sold by one of Britain’s most famous food brands are actually made with frozen pork from Germany.

Now it’s not that the meat is from so called ‘intensive farming’ or that it’s from Germany (or Poland which was also mentioned), rather that the front of pack is telling me a different story.

I believe firmly that marketing is about story telling - but let’s tell good stories, not ‘tall’ stories.

As the article points out, there is nothing illegal about this sourcing practice. But in my mind it’s not about the legality. It’s about the spirit. Whether you see this as a labelling loop hole in need of closing or just an undisclosed and unimportant fact to me it’s misleading and missing an opportunity to give consumers the authentic story they are looking for.

My point is that when a brand ‘fails’ to disclose this kind of detail - or leads me to believe that a product is something that it is not, I start to wonder, what else is this brand not telling me?

As a Brand your most important asset is your brand equity and it’s associated brand trust - the hard earned goodwill built up in the minds (and maybe even hearts) of your consumers over time.

Consumers are increasingly aware of the supply chain - and as it becomes ever more transparent these ‘little’ details mean more. Enough for consumers to stop eating sausage? Probably not. Enough for them to pick another brand? Maybe.

Cheddar cheese from Latvian dairies... 'packaged' in the UK

Maybe these should be ‘Lincolnshire Recipe’ sausages? Made faithfully following a traditional Lincolnshire recipe?

And as if that wasn’t enough, on 15 November the same paper reported on ‘British’ cheddar… made in Latvian dairies. This was another part of the Sunday Telegraph’s campaign for clearer labelling on food.

Apparently in Britain we import 40% of our cheddar. No problem. Just don’t label it ‘packaged in the UK’ and fail to mention it’s imported.

Again, like our sausages, it’s trying to tell one story when the reality is very different. Consumers trying to shop for reduced food miles are misled by this wording.

The result, when we find out (and we always find out in the end) we trust your brand a little bit less. Can’t we build our food brands on the truth? Please?

Don’t you want the food brands you buy to tell you the truth about their entire supply chain?

Brand Trust is just one of Wennstrom’s FourFactors of Success. To discover details about all 4, click here and learn about the key drivers of Brand Trust as well as Who Needs the Product, If they Accept the Ingredient and whether they Understand the Benefit.