CCTV: Starbucks' "shock" is shocking

On December 13, the incident of "Starbucks using expired ingredients for private ingredient labels" triggered public opinion. At noon on the same day, Starbucks China's official Weibo responded that it was deeply shocked by this, and had closed the two stores at the first time, and immediately launched an in-depth investigation. On the evening of the same day, Starbucks responded again, confirming the existence of violations, apologizing for this, saying that it had taken 6 measures such as comprehensive self-inspection of all stores, organizing retraining, and increasing the frequency and scope of internal and third-party inspections at the first time.

As the world's largest coffee chain brand, Starbucks often formulates and strictly implements the gold standard of food safety based on the highest standards in the industry, and its official website says that "food safety is the lifeblood and top priority of enterprise development". The "high-quality expectations" that accompany the brand effect have also become an important magic weapon for it to gain customers.

But now look, the so-called "gold standard" in the store involved has not only been downgraded, almost overhead: the ingredient label wants to change, the shelf life is changed, the expired ingredients are used correctly... This is undoubtedly the opposite of food safety norms, betraying the trust of consumers, and inevitably giving people the impression that the so-called gold standard is only to attach gold to themselves.

After the incident, Starbucks quickly closed the two stores, the response was indeed quick, but the intention of cutting in the first response came too obviously: first said "deeply shocked", and then did not forget to boast - "In the 22 years since entering the Chinese market, we have been committed to implementing strict food safety standards and resolutely adopting a zero-tolerance attitude towards food safety issues." ”

The "shock" on the Starbucks side is a bit shocking. First of all, the reporter secretly visited the two stores for many days and found that this kind of chaos is an unspoken rule that has existed for a long time, and it is no accident that it can be pulled out and exposed. Is it "deeply shocked" by Xi Yan's unobtrusive illegal operations, which just shows that its inspection and risk control mechanism are sometimes ineffective?

Second, previous reports have shown that other Starbucks stores have previously been warned or punished by regulatory authorities for operating expired food or failing to clean up food that has exceeded the shelf life in time. This inevitably makes people wonder: is there really only two stores in Wuxi that have such chaos? The unspoken rule does not exist on the first day, nor is it the first time it has been revealed, Yin Jian is in front, Starbucks is "shocked" by the recurrence of the problem, is the reflection arc too long, or is it a trick possessed? Is it hindsight, or is it playing a PR routine?

Starbucks has no franchise stores, more than 5,000 stores in China are direct stores, and it is even more difficult to blame the direct stores for problems. What's more, is the successive planting of different stores on "using expired ingredients" related to the way they scrap expired ingredients will affect the performance of stores? If these deep-seated and institutional problems are not squarely faced, we cannot rule out the possibility that public opinion will remain so after I have passed.

The "gold standard" should not be advertised, and "strict implementation" should not be reduced to a formality. The frequent occurrence of such scandals is nothing less than damage and overdraft to the brand power of enterprises. As a leading enterprise, it is responsible for playing an industry demonstration role in food safety and other issues, rather than smashing its own brand with illegal moves - no matter how good the golden signboard is, it cannot withstand such "self-destruction of strength". (CCTV commentator)