Clif Bar & Company, Health Valley Organic, Plum Organics, Earth's Best Organic and Earthbound Farms. The former have two things in common. They’re all successful, well-known organic companies and they've all experienced recent recalls. These companies are not alone either. Recalls happen.
If you're a retailer carrying organic products, healthy as they may be, you're not immune to product recalls. However, a product recall doesn’t have to result in total chaos. With careful and orderly planning you can greatly limit the recall damage to your company and reputation.
1. Know Your Organic Consumer
Organic product recalls are not conventional product recalls. In the world of organic products, savvy organic consumers expect more than just a product from organic retailers.
Organic consumers expect advice, healthy information and 100% transparency. Whether a crop of organic spinach is tainted or organic meat shows up with pathogens, organic consumers will look to their retailer for answers.
Follow organic product and food news carefully so that you're prepared for any possible eventuality. Offer informative product safety sheets placed near products when applicable. For example, a, "How to safely handle raw organic meat" information sheet or brochure is a great addition to your meat counter or food safety page at your website.
2. Be One Step Ahead of Recall Announcements
In order to keep consumers and your company in the loop, you should stay a step ahead of recall information. Usually there's an official public announcment during a recall. You need to know about the recall before any information is made public.
Make sure that any processor or manufacturers you work with will get you information about a recalled product quickly. Retailers should receive information right away about the product being recalled such as UPC codes, lot numbers, date codes and other details that make it easy to identify products. Processors and manufacturers you work with should also provide detailed tips for actions you should take during a recall as well as how to handle consumer product returns.
3. Have an Excellent Insurance Policy in Place
Before you experience a recall is when you should check your insurance policy. According to Natural Food Merchandiser, many states exempt retailers from liability if the tainted product is packaged. However, if a bulk product is recalled or the product supplier has poor financial standing, your store may be held responsible. The best thing to do is to obtain a good policy with indemnity. Indemnity insurance helps protect businesses that accept fees for any product or service that a client relies on.
4. Always Pull Questionable Products
Pull questionable first and ask questions asked later. Consumer safety and trust is more valuable than selling more products.
Consider the Johnson & Johnson children’s Tylenol and Motrin recall, likely the biggest recall disaster of 2010. Drug makers, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, suspected a problem but didn't investigate or correct deficiencies. They continued to sell the drugs. Consumers freaked out and the McNeil plant was shut down for investigation. Negative effects of this recall will last a long time.
If you suspect a product problem the best way to save face and manage consumer relations is to hold a voluntary recall, before someone gets sick, or you're forced into a recall.
5. Understand How Voluntary Recalls Work
Most recalls are “voluntary recalls,” which is when you, the retailer, realizes you have a possible safety issue, so you try to investigate and solve the problem.
During a voluntary recall you need to work with the correct agency for your industry. For organic food product recalls contact the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For non-food product recalls contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
A small number of companies experience “involuntary recalls,” which is when a government agency forces you into a recall situation. No recall is ideal, but a voluntary recall looks better in the eyes of consumers. An involuntary recall is more likely to result in bad press and legal complications.
6. Communicate Clearly, Quickly and Honestly
David Lippman, general manager of the North Coast Cooperative, says that pulling a questionable product always comes first, but secondly the co-op will, "Notify members, when purchase history is available and then issues a press release regarding the recall to the local media." Lippman reminds retailers that if you know something you need to speak up, "We try to deal with recall information as quickly as possible. If we ignore information that we receive, then we take on liability."
7. Make the Recall Easy for Customers
Go the extra mile to make sure your customers are not only aware of the recall but offer them all the facts surrounding potential risks involved and refund information. Educate team members so they can answer customer questions. Place recall signs and notices up in the store. Instigate a toll-free recall hot-line. Set up a dedicated customer news section on your store's website where you can relate any and all recall information.
Customers who know you're keeping them in the loop feel cared for and will maintain trust in your store.
Important Website Tip: Often a company will get so many website hits during a recall that their website may crash. Have a back-up phone center in mind so consumers can still contact you if your website crashes.
8. Choose Your Public Relations Team Wisely
Communicating a product recall efficiently is key to surviving a recall. It might be smart to hire a public relations firm who can coordinate media relations.
To ensure the best success you need a public relations team who truly understands the organic market. Look for a team who excels at client relationships in your niche. For example, The Fresh Ideas Group (FIG) is well known in the public relation sector for their success with natural and organic clients such as Whole Foods, Crofter's Organic, Santa Cruz Organic and more.
In times of crisis you need a PR team who has successfully navigated organic market issues before. Most importantly you need a team who can be level-headed when you're feeling out of sorts.
