Food & Drink

Food and Drink PR Specialists

When a crisis occurs within the food and beverage industry, a swift and comprehensive PR response is often the only way to stop a small, localised issue from spiralling into a national public health crisis.

Operating as specialist crisis communication advisors within the food service industry, the PR experts at Alder have the experience and knowledge to assist businesses across all areas of this diverse sector. Skilled at quickly addressing issues as they arise, our team works to limit any potential fallout associated with large-scale, business-critical crises. How these events are handled by companies can have a lasting effect on public opinion and, in such a competitive environment, protecting brand loyalty and reputation is a key element of success.

A public matter by nature, food and drink PR crises have the potential to inspire unregulated public fear, which in turn could result in immeasurable and permanent damage to responsible parties. Taking a proactive approach to the prevention of food hysteria, our skilled food PR practitioners have developed a keen understanding of the issues commonly faced by food and beverage manufacturing companies, restaurants in the food service industry, and product distribution companies such as supermarkets. Such issues include:

• Business disruptions and unexpected closures caused by staff shortages, supply interruptions, distribution failures and more
• Matters of food safety, including foodborne illnesses and contamination
• Marketing troubles, including misinformation on food packaging and advertising

As a well-respected food and beverage PR agency, we advise clients across the UK and regularly train in-house teams to prepare them for a wide range of crisis situations. Brand protection and public perception are key, and our joint approach of putting in place flexible preventive measures and providing immediate crisis support helps to ensure they remain at the forefront of any response.

The services provided by our food and drink PR experts include:

• Comprehensive assessment of client crisis communication capabilities, including the identification of most likely risks and effects of any response plans currently in place
• Deconstruction of default defensive reactions and provision of training on strategic crisis communication plans to ensure the delivery of accurate, empathetic and informative responses
• Regular procedure reviews, crisis training and simulation testing
• Social media monitoring to assess public sentiment
• Aiding with every aspect of media and press communications, including interview preparation and media training
• Access to a vital network of contacts within the media, relevant health departments, insurance companies, lawyers and, in the case of international crises, specialist local PR consultants.

Whether you’re planning ahead and want to set up a comprehensive early warning system to remain alert to any and all potential crises, or are in the midst of a growing crisis and are in need of immediate assistance, the team of PR experts at Alder are on-hand to help.