MARKETING
2022 : The Year Of Logistics !
By Graham Villiers-Tuthill
As a red-blooded Irishman nothing stirs my soul like potatoes . We love potatoes in Ireland . The humble spud has a special place in our national psyche . Potatoes have been our staple food since 1585 and despite blight , famine , and competitor starches they are the closest thing we have to a national cuisine !
The Irish potato has made waves globally . It was with great joy that I learned you can get the Irish potato variety here in Kenya , grown locally . So , you can imagine my shock , distress , and horror when KFC Kenya announced that they had run out of potatoes on 3rd January 2022 . As if we haven ’ t suffered enough , what a traumatic way to start the year !
KFC ’ s announcement that they had run out of potatoes soon made national news in Kenya , along with the revelation that KFC imports their potatoes . This was something the company didn ’ t mention as part of their announcement , but it became the heart of the story . The brand tweeted and immediately got a lot of feedback from consumers , registering about 400 times more responses than an average tweet by KFC in the market .
Kenyans were not happy . The underlying problem wasn ’ t that KFC was out of potatoes , to be fair to KFC they offered some great alternative sides , what rubbed people up the wrong way was the revelation that KFC sourced their potatoes from abroad . In a country full of waru this seemed like sacrilege !
As marketers we need to recognize that in 2022 the logistic aspect of KFC ’ s situation will not be unique . They are simply the latest casualty of a global shipping crisis that is going to affect most FMCG organizations that import raw materials or finished products . It could be one of the big headaches for companies in 2022 and , as always , marketing has a big role to play in how companies respond . I think there are three things we can all learn from the KFC experience in Kenya as we face into a bumpy 2022 .
Sourcing : The Consumer Cares
The global supply chain is under tremendous pressure . Products are running out of stock across markets with escalating sea and airfreight prices . The evidence has been quantified by the “ Global Supply Chain
Pressure Index ” developed by New York Fed researchers that shows supply chain disruptions are at the highest levels since 1997 , but the evidence is really in front of our faces with some empty shelves in markets , stores , and retailers across the continent .
Short term distribution will be a challenge for some sectors to manage , and brand teams are going to have to get very comfortable improving their forecasting accuracy . Deeper than short term availability , the KFC example shows us that the real challenge for marketers is consumers can and will get very emotional about where companies are sourcing from . A recent article in Forbes ( 4th May 2021 , Transparency is no Longer an Option ; It ’ s a Must ) cites “ growing concerns around food safety , ethical sourcing , data security , and environmental impact , consumers want to know more than ever before about the products they buy ”.
This shouldn ’ t come as a surprise to the marketing community . This is bang in line with the trends we have been espousing for years . Consumers are increasingly environmentally conscious , consumers want to buy local , and consumers expect brands to support the communities in which they operate . The consumer cares , and so should we .
So , are we listening to , and acting on , our own trends ? As marketers we need to be experts on our products - how is it made , what goes into it , and where the raw materials come from ? At EABL we import some raw materials as well as finished goods such as Johnnie Walker where international provenance is core to the proposition . We also locally source grain from 47,000 farmers across Kenya .
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MAL 46 / 22 ISSUE