Whether you watched this year’s 315 Gala or not, you may have heard the term “sauerkraut”, yes! This is a type of instant noodles that everyone may have eaten - Laotan Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles
As soon as this incident happened, the related companies all issued relevant notices. Some companies admitted their mistakes, some companies distanced themselves from the matter, and some companies took the initiative to prove their innocence.
Here, we have also sorted out the announcements and statements of various companies for you.
In the early morning of March 16, Master Kong publicly apologized and announced the suspension of all cooperation with Chaqi Vegetable Industry. At noon, it issued another statement, announcing the initiation of measures to remove and recall related products and apologized again.
Uni-President issued a statement saying that since December 2012, it has no longer used the company as a supplier of raw materials for sauerkraut buns, and has ordered it to remove the false information on its official website.
Baixiang issued a statement saying that it had never cooperated with Chaqi Vegetable Industry.
KFC denied that Chaqi Caiye was its supplier and ordered it to remove the false information from its official website.
In addition, Hefu Lamian issued a statement saying that the sauerkraut used in its products are all purchased from regular and qualified companies. From material selection to pickling, cleaning, picking, inner packaging, sterilization, metal detection... each process is controlled by fully automated technology and production is strictly managed in accordance with standards. The exposed company is not a supplier of Hefu.
On March 16, Tai Er Pickled Fish released a safety report on its pickled cabbage ingredients, stating that all the pickled cabbage used was pickled by compliant manufacturers with a license to produce pickled vegetables. The production company has an independent dedicated workshop and has undergone rigorous testing.
The level of public relations documents can also reflect the crisis public relations capabilities of various companies, and the difference is really obvious.
I think the worst thing they did was unified crisis public relations , because they made a very serious mistake, which was to blur the facts.
In the first statement, Uni-President admitted its cooperation with "Jinrui Food", but in the second statement, the information about cooperation with "Yinrui Food" disappeared. However, Uni-President's products appeared in the video footage of the reporter's undercover investigation.
Tai Er’s public relations statement is worth learning and drawing lessons from. Although the public’s attention was not on Tai Er at this time, Tai Er took the initiative to come out and clarify and answer the public’s doubts.
In Tai Er's statement, three things were mainly mentioned:
1. Taier's suppliers are compliant manufacturers and have relevant qualifications
2. The sauerkraut produced by the manufacturer is hygienic and meets the standards without any quality problems
3. Sauerkraut is also tested by a third-party authority
Sauerkraut is an important ingredient of Tai Er, so even though it is not mentioned, consumers still have concerns. It is the right choice to clarify it at this time and reassure consumers. The statement is crucial. Tai Er first stated that it had no relationship with the supplier involved. Secondly, it posted the inspection report of Tai Er Pickled Cabbage and accompanied it with real photos of the processing factory to completely dispel consumers' concerns.
Once these three statements were issued, judging from the reaction of public opinion, not only did users not feel disgusted, but they also gained a sense of presence and goodwill. .
This public relations incident also gives us several inspirations
1. For enterprises, in addition to ensuring that their own products meet the standards, they must also pay attention to suppliers, from raw material processing to production, to reassure consumers.
2. Every crisis of a catering enterprise is not a test of the execution of crisis public relations, but a test of the implementation of the core values of the corporate brand.
3. Food safety is the bottom line for catering companies and we must stick to it.
Here comes the practical stuff: a crisis public relations measure specifically for catering companies
1. Companies should lower their profile and care about the health of their customers rather than their operating losses.
2. Companies should apologize to consumers and the public immediately, rather than explain or shirk responsibility.
3. Make the entire process transparent and announce the results of the incident in a timely manner. Do not delete the Weibo posts that have been published about the incident. This is a big taboo and will not only fail to win back the favor of consumers, but will instead cause more resentment among consumers.
4. Make a commitment to standardize process management and health and safety, and ensure that it will not happen again next time
5. Regularly announce the details of rectification and optimization to let consumers feel that you are indeed making rectifications, rather than just ignoring them after the trend passes.
5. Monitor social media public opinion in real time, open and optimize social media comments and complaint channels, and restore and provide solutions as soon as possible. Do not close Weibo comments, which is not only useless but also arouses consumer disgust.
6. Optimize and publicize the supply chain, central kitchen, and back-kitchen operating procedures and systems, open and broadcast the restaurant's back kitchen, and invite the media, consumers, and government agencies to visit and inspect the restaurant's operations, because consumers will feel at ease only when they see it.
7. Internally, promote and communicate corporate values, showcase more stories that reflect the company's positive values, stories of company employees defending the quality of food ingredients, and strengthen corporate culture and employee value training.
8. Externally, spread stories about the emotions between consumers and store employees, stories about ordinary store employees practicing corporate culture and values, and stories about insisting on the quality of ingredients , to enhance consumers' sense of closeness to the company and employees.
