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Text: Mo Hanxue
Edited by Mo Hanxue
The content of this article is based on reliable sources of information and has been placed at the end of the article
[Preface]
China has a large land and a large population, so our Chinese market has become a "sweet spot" in the eyes of foreign brands.
Generally, brands that can enter our Chinese market and win the trust of the mainland people will eventually make a lot of money, and there are even some "foreign brands" pretending to be our "domestic" brands to deceive......
The most hateful thing is that there is a brand whose products have been found to contain carcinogens, and even the United States and Canada have been urgently removed from the shelves, but they are still being sold in our Chinese market!
What's going on here? And what brand would dare to be so bold? Why don't we in China deal with the removal of the shelves urgently?
["Foreign brand" Procter & Gamble, considered to be a "domestic product"]
This bold brand is "Procter & Gamble", which is an American consumer goods company, but because of P&G's significant sales performance in the Chinese market and its full of national advertising, it is often mistaken for "domestic products".
The most important thing is that when the mainland economy was just starting, Procter & Gamble had already entered our Chinese market, and had the title of good quality and low price, whether it was shampoo or soap, they sold very quickly.
You know, since entering China in the 80s of the last century, Procter & Gamble has won the wide love of Chinese consumers with its rich product line and popular brand image.
Over the years, P&G has not only set up a number of production bases and R&D centers in China, but also actively promoted the localization strategy to continuously adapt and meet the needs of Chinese consumers.
It is precisely because of this deep integration into the Chinese market that many consumers mistakenly believe that Procter & Gamble is our local brand in China.
Most importantly, P&G often incorporates Chinese elements in its advertising and promotion activities in China, making the brand image closer to the aesthetics and habits of Chinese consumers.
It is precisely because of this localized brand image that to a certain extent, it has also deepened consumers' misunderstanding that P&G is a "domestic product", and P&G has also used a "brand surname" strategy to make similar products "kill each other" in the market.
At that time, Procter & Gamble products can be said to be popular all over the country, whether it is at home, or in hotels, or shopping malls, P&G products can be seen everywhere, and they can be said to make a lot of money in China.
Procter & Gamble's investment and development in China can be traced back to 1988, when they established their first joint venture in China, Guangzhou Procter & Gamble Co., Ltd., in Guangzhou.
The products they sell are also necessities in our daily life, such as shampoo, conditioner, and makeup......
In addition, Procter & Gamble's pricing is not high, so it is very popular in our Chinese market, and it soon occupied the demand for daily necessities in the mainland.
Don't believe it, maybe the daily necessities you pick up now are owned by Procter & Gamble, and their penetration of our Chinese market is still very terrible.
In fact, Procter & Gamble was founded in the United States as early as 1837, and through continuous development, it has formed one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, and the reason why they set up companies in China is also to better enter and occupy the Chinese market.
Since P&G entered China, it has continued to increase its investment in the Chinese market, including product innovation and R&D, local talent training, supply chain upgrading and digital transformation.
In recent years, Procter & Gamble has not only built the largest production base in Asia in Guangdong, but also set up a headquarters management team and launched a series of initiatives.
It can be seen that P&G is still very concerned about our Chinese market, but what happened next made us start to question the P&G brand......
[Procter & Gamble products were found to have carcinogens - benzene]
When it comes to "cancer", I believe that no one will be frightened, after all, in many ordinary families, cancer is equivalent to facing death, or scattering all family wealth.
Unexpectedly, on December 17, 2021, Procter & Gamble of the United States issued an announcement: benzene, a carcinogen detected in the product, should be voluntarily recalled.
These products include brands such as Pantene, Phytosensory, Auss Kangaroo and Waterless.
After all, the harm of this "benzene" is mainly reflected in the toxic effect on human cells, and long-term exposure or inhalation of benzene will lead to cell gene mutations, which will increase the risk of cancer.
At that time, some netizens speculated: This is the conspiracy of the United States, they are using "benzene", a colorless, special aromatic organic compound, to harm us Chinese.
Unexpectedly, Procter & Gamble emphasized that these recalled products do not involve the Chinese market, they are all produced in the United States, and all products sold in the Chinese market meet relevant national regulations and standards.
In addition, Procter & Gamble agreed to pay $8 million as a settlement for consumers in the U.S. and Canada to settle claims that the brand faced with multiple spray care products that were found to be a Class 1 carcinogen, benzene.
After all, benzene can also cause damage to the human nervous system and hematopoietic system, and after exposure to benzene, people may experience headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms, and in severe cases, it may even lead to coma and death.
At the same time, benzene can also inhibit the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow, leading to anemia and other blood diseases.
Therefore, in the face of so many risks, it is not something that the United States can dispel in a few words, but even if the opposition at that time came and went, it did not last long, and the final result was that Procter & Gamble products were still sold in the Chinese market!
As for the final trend of the matter, many people do not buy it, and the image of European and American countries in our minds is not very good, so we Chinese consumers still have some resistance to Procter & Gamble products during that incident.
But perhaps because Procter & Gamble has penetrated our Chinese market too much over the years, this boycott did not last too long......
[Aren't the Chinese people afraid of carcinogens? 】
Procter & Gamble, the "global daily chemical giant", caused an uproar in the U.S. and Canadian markets after some of its products were detected with the carcinogen "benzene", and a number of products involved were urgently removed from the shelves, and consumers also expressed concern and anger.
But what is puzzling is that these products, which are suspected of having potential safety hazards, are still sold normally in the Chinese market, aren't we Chinese people afraid of carcinogens?
It is important to know that "life safety is no trivial matter", especially when it comes to necessities such as daily toiletries, and the quality and safety of products should be strictly controlled.
As a world-renowned daily chemical brand, Procter & Gamble's products have countless customer groups in the Chinese market, and their safety and reliability have always been trusted, so with the detection of carcinogens, it has undoubtedly brought a great impact on the brand image and consumer trust.
In the face of the doubts of our Chinese people, Procter & Gamble's response was that the products involved were limited to the North American market and did not involve products sold in the Chinese market.
However, such a response does not seem to completely dispel the doubts of consumers, after all, in today's globalized world, the production and sales of products often cross multiple countries and regions, and it is difficult to guarantee that there are no quality and safety problems between different markets.
But no matter how netizens question and resist the boycott, they can't change Procter & Gamble's approach, after all, there are indeed differences in regulatory standards and strength in different countries and regions.
The United States and Canada may have stricter safety standards and limits for daily chemical products, so they have taken measures to urgently remove them from the shelves after the detection of carcinogens, while we in China have not yet set a clear limit on the benzene content in toiletries, so we cannot meet the standards for emergency takedown.
There is also the difference in production lines and raw materials, which may also be one of the reasons for the different performance of products in different markets, after all, P&G has multiple production bases and supply chains around the world, and there may be differences in production lines and raw materials in different regions, which directly affects the quality and safety of the final product.
Therefore, for these reasons, the mainland did not urgently recall these products, and almost all of the P&G products circulating in our Chinese market today are manufactured by our local operations in China, so there is almost no need to worry too much.
But disturbingly, this isn't the first time P&G has had product problems......
As early as 2017, some shower gel products of Procter & Gamble's Hong Kong branch were detected to contain another harmful substance called "dioxane".
At that time, the Hong Kong Consumer Council tested 60 shampoos on the market in 2017, including a number of products from Procter & Gamble.
Of these products, 38 were found to contain 10 ppm dioxane above the EU's recommended level, with Procter & Gamble's products accounting for six of the tests.
Such data is undoubtedly staggering, which is why we are so resistant when P&G has problems again in 2021......
【Conclusion】
As for the question of "Procter & Gamble products have been found to have carcinogens, and the United States and Canada have been removed from the shelves, but we are still selling them in China", it may actually be because the United States and Canada conduct more frequent spot checks and tests on products, and take quick action once problems are found.
However, the frequency of testing in the Chinese market may be relatively low, which leads to some potential safety hazards not being detected and dealt with in a timely manner.
Regardless of the reason, we hope that companies and regulators will be responsible for the health and safety of our consumers, and we also hope that Procter & Gamble should conduct comprehensive testing of similar products sold in the Chinese market as soon as possible to ensure that the products meet safety standards......
Sources of information:
On December 19, 2021, the city reported that "Procter & Gamble's Pantene and other products detected first-class carcinogens, Procter & Gamble China: not involving the Chinese market".
On December 19, 2021, CCTV reported that "Procter & Gamble's Pantene and other products were detected with carcinogen benzene response: it does not involve the Chinese market".
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