What if what we ate was not really what we see on TV? What if it was just a big lie? How can we guarantee that the product we see on the advertising board or on TV is the same product sold? What would be the most important quality for a company to communicate its products? If someone were to ask me, I’d say it would be the capability to communicate effectively and having transparency with consumers. In this new age of electronic communication, we should not forget that effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills should be emphasized and well-executed in this industry. Nowadays consumers are more and more concerned and aware of their health, lifestyle and the products they consume, they believe that they have the right to know what their food contains and where it come from. We can’t deny the improvement made by several companies during the last decade. In fact, they seek to solve this problem and they are more and more focused on providing all the important information that the consumer should know. Right now, you would be probably asking yourself, does this kind of company really exist? Are there any companies that have an effective communication of their products? If the answer is yes, then how can a company prove its credibility to reassure the consumer?

“The means justify the ends”, this proverb describes perfectly the situation of food and beverage industry nowadays. These companies search for ways to create an environment that is conducive to selling their product, according to them the most important and efficient way is the communication through the media and marketing action. The communication is the backbone of this industry, the firms went beyond the idea of fascinating the consumers with advertisement or packaging, to influence and manipulate their purchases by tying some nutritional values to the food, those companies marketed their products as enhancing health, and to push this message to the consumer, those companies use different ways in addition to the advertisement, they go right to the point, by identifying the leading experts in the nutrition industry and hiring them as consultants, or sponsoring their research in order to establish a nutritious image of their products and influence dietary advice to the consumer. Generally, they tend to highlight a natural nutrient that somehow reassures consumers. This development is also called in marketing jargon the USP (Unique Selling Proposition). In other words, the benefits that claim the product are not totally false, but it is also not the whole truth.

This strategy of communication still too far away to create awareness, the food and beverage companies attempt to create an illusion by making the consumers believe that they had made a great decision with a full comprehension of the purchased product. We are in an open market where competition is basically a screening agent. The skids are quickly spotted. This is the case of Afya oil, which was attacked by Lesieur its direct competitor for putting on the design of a corn cob in the packaging, while it is extracted from soybean oil. It turned out that it was only an illustration and that at no time did the brand mention the existence of this nutrient in the composition.

Understanding the mindset of the socially responsible consumer is only one variable in the formula of success, and as long as consumer health-awareness continues to grow, companies and brands need to talk the talk and walk the walk, to be competitive. When a firm lies about its activities and systems, customers are affected because they do not receive the good that they paid for. These markets failures may be partially resolved by NGO interventions because NGOs can provide an important source of information for consumers who value the behavior of firms.

Labels are a visible means to help consumers know and recognize that the products meet the required standards. With that said, NGOs provide by their external intervention credibility and legitimacy through the trust that they inspire among consumers. Many firms, co-brand with an NGO to enhance its image. In this context, we can list some of the NGOs and standards; like the ISO 26000 standard, which deals with social responsibility, by encouraging fair operating practices and consumer issues. There is also the «Food Myth Busters», which is a campaign of the ‘Real Food Media Project’ that seeks to dispel misconceptions about food production and promote reforms in food advertising, in order to tell ‘the real story of our food’, Food Myth Busters uses video series and interactive digital content. Moreover, the Center for Food Safety in the United States is a non-profit advocacy organization that promotes food systems that are safe and sustainable.

All means are good to extol the so-called virtues of the product, even if at present, this new approach is at the peak, the market remains strewn with pitfalls and the slightest slippage can cost the life of the brand. Anticipating information is an asset that, among other things, would contribute to the success of a brand because the majority of consumers do not have sufficient knowledge to judge the nutritional quality of a product. Professionals in the sector recommend putting online an informative website around the product. Thus, the consumer becomes an actor of a brand that is part of logic of conversation with the general public, the content and messages become relevant and strengthen the emotional link between the consumer and the product. This consensual approach will make health messages credible while the consumers will be enjoying their meal. Functional speech will for sure be the right key of success for a food brand.

Authors

• BENTOUMI MERYEM
• CHAFAAOUI YOUSSEF
• CHARI IMANE
• CHOUGRAD HIDAYA
• EL ASRI AMAL

Resources

• Nestle M, and Pollan M. (2013), Food politics: How the food industry influences nutrition and health, University of California Press.
• Garvente A. (2018), How Has the Food Industry manipulated the way consumers perceive food and health? Honors College, Pace University. 
• Poret S. (2014), Corporate-NGO partnerships in CSR activities: why and how? Ecole Polytechnique Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique. 
• Ouazzani M. (2011),The wisely use of health marketing, L’Economiste.