Managing Product Recalls: What You Need To Know!

What happens when your product is found to have traces of Salmonella or undeclared allergens? Typically, when listing a product at retail, such issues as these are one of the farthest things from your mind, but they do happen, and relatively often. The result: voluntary (or in some cases involuntary) product recalls that can cost your company a lot more than just money! Take a look at this very brief list of some of the many CPG recalls that have taken place in the last few weeks: 

a.      Undeclared soy in certain Christie brand Rice Thins

b.      Certain Fresh Sprouts brand Fresh Bean Sprouts recalled

c.      Undeclared gluten in certain Bob's Red Mill brand Sweet White Sorghum Flour

d.      Certain Canada Garden brand Tahini recalled cue to traces of Salmonella found

e.      Undeclared sulphites in certain Blue Marsh Farm & Kitchen brand jams and jellies

These brands are all well known, and so demonstrate that product recalls can happen to any company, big or small. And these can become big issues with resounding impacts, no? In today’s competitive retail environment, the management of product recalls can make or break a brand’s reputation, so careful management of the situation is critical.

Costs and impacts of a product recall: resources need to be allocated for the removal of all recalled product. This leads to empty shelves that then need to be refilled with product that is safe. These can both represent a significant cost to a brand – one that needs to be mitigated by any means. Brand reputation can also be impacted, so ensuring concerns are fixed in a timely fashion helps to safeguard against any negative feedback.

How do you manage a product recall to ensure continued brand recognition and customer loyalty? The simple answer: as quickly as possible. And this doesn’t just mean taking recalled product from the shelf – although this is crucial – it also means restocking those empty shelves ASAP. After all, if your product isn’t on the shelves for customers to purchase, they are inevitably going to go for something else. Furthermore, the quicker the response, the more exposure is contained – a definite plus.

Product recalls can be a major pain, and if they are not managed properly the results can be disastrous. Make sure that you work to maintain a positive brand image and keep costs associated with these unfortunate issues at a minimum.

Facing an emergency product recall? Storesupport has the resources to help you overcome it quickly and effectively, at a significant cost savings. Contact us today at 1-877-421-5081 or visit www.storesupport.ca.