Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

THE FOOD INDUSTRY ADAPTS 141
vigorously argued that Frito - Lay was deliberately deceiving
consumers into believing that the snacks no longer contained
Olean (Olestra).
P & G essentially gave up in 2002, selling the factory to a
supplier fi rm and writing off a substantial plant investment,
although they did retain the brand and technology rights.
Further, Frito - Lay and P & G ’ s Pringles continued to use Olean
(Olestra) under the Light subbrand. Presumably those customers
who experience side effects have learned not to use Olean,
and the remainder can enjoy its benefi ts. In addition, there
was a technological spin - off application that resulted in P & G ’ s
2009 introduction of a paint additive using an Olestra - like
substance with several good qualities, including the absence of
toxic fumes.
In retrospect, the Olestra adventure cost P & G hundreds of
millions of dollars and diverted resources from more productive
options. P & G may have overestimated the appeal of the product
and did not accept or take seriously enough the negatives
or the infl uence of CSPI. However, given the unquestioned size
and urgency of the problem to fi nd a low - calorie, functional fat
substitute and the competitive advantages for P & G had Olestra
worked, there was an enormous upside, and the gamble must
have been temping. There needs to be a distinction between
good decisions and good outcomes. This is a case in which there
might have been a good decision but a bad outcome.
From Fat to Health
Fats are not the only story in healthy eating. There have been
a lot more chapters and characters. Among the most prominent
healthy eating suggestions have been to reduce the intake
of carbs, sodium, sugar, and, for some, glutens while increasing
incidence in the diet of whole grains, fi ber, soy, protein, probiotic
cultures, vitamins, and fi sh oil, and to use food products
that are natural and organic. These thirteen dimensions of food,