How To Satisfy Retailers

Imagine the delight in the offices of the Meiji Seika Food Company when the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, said it wanted to stock Hello Panda confectionery. The dollar—or yen—signs must have flashed in their eyes. But there was one condition. Wal-Mart wanted Meiji to get British Retail Consortium certification (BRC) for its production processes.

Now Meiji is a reputable firm. No doubt its standards of management, hygiene and safety were fine.

But the customer is right. And Meiji didn’t want to lose the deal. So it hired a manager to oversee the quality assurance process in its Singapore facilities, and inspectors came to check everything.



Meiji had to prove it used Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point or HACCP techniques, and that it used them properly. It had to show it had an effective management system that had been fully documented—that meant keeping records on anything from calibration of measuring devices to staff health.

What Meiji went through is becoming common in the food industry. Retailers want third-party assurance that their suppliers are competent, and aren’t likely to poison customers. And it’s a sign of how globalised the business has become: an American retailer asking a Japanese firm to get British-invented certification for its Singapore factory.

BRC is just one of the retail-industry standards that have developed (EFSIS is another). It’s become popular outside Britain. Many retailers across Europe and the developed world use it too.

BRC certification started in the late 1990s. The consortium represents between 80 and 90 per cent of shops in the UK.
Retailers saw that it made sense to have common industry standards certified by consultants for own-brand goods. It was cheaper than each chain creating its own procedures.

In 1998 the BRC published its ‘Technical Standard and Protocol for Companies Supplying Retailer-Branded Food Products’. That became the snappier ‘BRC Global Standard-Food’ in 2003.

Now, all UK food retailers accept BRC certification, except Marks & Spencer (which is still recovering from some disastrous business mistakes—so perhaps there’s a lesson there.)

Food laws are getting tougher in Europe. Shops may be prosecuted if they supply unfit food. So certification helps their defence if they do. They can argue in court that they did ‘due diligence’ by requiring BRC certification of suppliers. It’s good insurance—legally and for their reputation.

There are benefits for food firms too. Standards reduce paperwork and duplicated effort. Management need only to show one team of inspectors around the factory, instead of shepherding groups from each supermarket chain that buys its products.

What’s happening in Europe may seem remote to food firms in Asia. But if you want to export there you have to be prepared for the BRC or EFSIS inspectors. ‘If you are certified in HACCP and ISO this means you are well on your way,’ says Tony Garthwaite, a certification consultant. Don’t forget too that giant retailers like Wal-Mart and Tesco are opening shops and buying rivals all around the world. So you might soon need Western certification even to supply products to your local supermarket.