In 1986, Beech-Nut brand destroyed its name due to an apple juice scandal. Beech-Nut is a baby brand that attempts to compete with Gerber. However, after the apple juice scandal the company was involved in, Beech-Nut continues to fail still today.
An overview of the apple juice scandal:
Beech-Nut apple juice was being bottled and sold in stores nation-wide as “100% juice.” The creators and employees at Beech-Nut, however, knew that the juice they were selling was actually not juice at all. The “juice” was only sugars, water, flavoring and coloring. Parents generally do not want their babies drinking harmful chemicals and corn syrup which were being used in Beech-Nut’s “juice.”
“The company itself had pleaded guilty the previous fall to 215 counts of violating Federal food and drug laws, and had agreed to pay a $2 million fine, by far the largest ever imposed in the 50-year history of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Beech-Nut had confessed in a press release that it had broken a ''sacred trust.''
Needless to say, the Beech-Nut name has since then been shamed and is now nearly unrecognizable. When Beech-Nut was first originated in 1931, they were known for caring greatly for babies and were seen as a brand the public could trust. For years and years the company went on as such. After the scandal in the 1980s, Beech-Nut fell drastically and lost their reputation.
The following is a quote from Beech-Nut:
“We pride ourselves on using the highest quality, all natural ingredients to create great-tasting and nutritious items. If a product doesn't exceed our expectations, we won't sell it.”
Clearly, Beech-Nut has suffered heavily for its wrong doing. Both the President and Vice President received jail time and hefty fines for the apple juice scandal. Today, Beech-Nut claims to have successfully recovered from the scandal, which by an entire college level class’ unfamiliarity of the company proves to be an exaggeration. Trying to regain their brand status will be an incredible battle for a company with such a poor reputation.
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/magazine/into-the-mouths-of-babes.html
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/BeechNut-Nutrition-Corporation-Company-History.html
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