Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – How To Do It Right
[By Nora Jacobs]
(Note: This article has been updated since being originally published on April 24)
Clients sometime ask us for examples of organizations that have done a good job managing a crisis. When we first commented on the situation on April 24, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams had just announced a full recall of the company’s product following discovery of some tainted samples found during routine safety testing. At that time, we said Jeni’s appeared to be writing a textbook example of how to respond the right way when catastrophe strikes your company. A week later, we stand by our observation. (Full disclosure: Hennes Communications is not counseling Jeni’s on this situation.)
For those who haven’t been following the story and don’t know the company, Columbus-based Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream was founded in 2002 and quickly grew a cult following for its artisanal, premium ice creams, sorbets and frozen yogurts, and is especially well-known for its imaginative and wide-ranging flavors. Long lines of expectant customers often stretch out the doors at its store-front “scoop” shops.
On Thursday, April 23, the company announced that it was recalling all of its ice creams, sorbets and ice cream sandwiches and closing all of its retail locations until further notice, after the Nebraska Department of Agriculture discovered that a random sample of ice cream there tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal illnesses in vulnerable populations including children, the elderly and pregnant women.
The company’s initial statement said, “Out of an abundance of caution, we made the swift decision to cease all ice cream production and sales until we can get to the very root of the problem. We are enlisting the help of experts so we can identify the cause, eliminate it and return as quickly as possible to the business of making ice cream.” In an expansion of the statement, the company’s CEO says, “Our top priority is guaranteeing the safety of all consumers by taking every possible precaution.”
As we observed last week, other food-makers facing similar situations have often done partial recalls, only to find the need later to expand their decision and go back to the marketplace with a broader take-back. Whether Jeni’s decided to take the “rip off the Band-Aid” approach due to its corporate culture, or whether it applied the lessons learned by watching Blue Bell Creameries take a different approach when it found a potential link to Listeria in its products, we don’t know. What we do know is that effectively shutting down your entire company is a brave and difficult decision, but the right one to make from the perspective of maintaining customer confidence and preserving your reputation.
Indeed, a more recent post on the company’s homepage, found here, details just how difficult that decision has been. Jeni’s now estimates the recall will cost the company more than $2.5 million dollars. Much of its workforce has been idled. To the company’s credit, CEO John Lowe reports the company is providing partial pay to those employees affected and is maintaining their health benefits. In the same statement, Lowe makes a point of thanking his suppliers for their support in helping to get to the source of the contamination.
It’s impossible to put a price on doing the right thing, but we believe the decision Jeni’s made when it faced what was undoubtedly an unprecedented crisis for the company will be repaid many times over with the most valuable commodity any organization can hope to obtain: stakeholder loyalty.
One only need to glance at the outpouring of support Jeni’s has received on its Facebook page to see that this is a company that will come back to the marketplace even stronger than before, rewarded for making a very difficult choice under very difficult circumstances.
Photo Credit: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams