By Richard Clarke, Founder, Ingredient Communications
Most ingredient businesses operate exclusively at a B2B level, and this means they tend to have a lower public profile than the companies they supply their products to. Perhaps this is why, in our opinion, they haven’t always been getting the recognition they deserve through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Praise has rightly been given to retailers and manufacturers for their extraordinary efforts over the past two months to keep people fed. But it’s also fair to say that, without the hard work and resourcefulness of ingredients businesses – and the people who work for them – the factories and supermarket shelves would have been empty. Ingredient companies are the glue that holds the supply chain together.
Over the course of the pandemic, with all its twists and turns, we’ve learned a lot about our clients. We’ve seen how seriously they take their role in feeding the world and keeping it healthy. We’ve seen the pride they take in protecting supply chains and responding quickly to changing demand. We’ve even seen them launch charity initiatives to help the vulnerable.
The Ingredient Communications team has done its part to step up, too. We’ve carried on supporting our clients with press releases, White Papers and advice on customer communications. And as the world takes baby steps towards the famous ‘new normal’, we’re looking forward to helping them tell their stories in new ways.
We’ve always felt fortunate to be part of the global ingredients industry – with all its variety, its commitment to innovation and its dedicated people. But in recent weeks, we’ve also felt privileged to have played our part in telling the world about the essential but sometimes unappreciated role that ingredients companies play in keeping fridges full and putting food on the table.
