Having a POV: Penzeys Spices

January 18, 2010 · Posted in Branding · 2 Comments 

I was surprised to find the following message in my new Penzeys Spices catalog:

Salt

We’re cutting back on salt.

A really good and healthy thing going on with food right now is that people are using less salt. We want to be a part of this. Going forward we will continue to sell reasonably priced generic salts of the earth and sea, but we will no longer be selling the higher priced specialty salts. I feel things have gotten to the point where the specialty salts are glamorizing the use of salt and, with that, encouraging people to use more of it. I have also found that along with the marketing of specialty salt had come a great deal of misinformation, including claims that some salts don’t affect your health like others do. This is just not true and not something we want to be part of. Salt is salt, it really is, and it taste no different no matter where it comes from.

With our belief that cooking comes from caring for those around you we feel part of that is caring for the well-being of the people we cook for. We all have our own relationship with salt and I respect that, but as a cook and a business I feel so much better about working to cut back on the use of salt rather than encouraging the use of more. I hope this makes sense to you.

Bill

This is found on page 43 of the most recent catalog. Just below it are the catalog items for Kosher Style Flake Salt and Pacific Sea Salt. And certain seasoned salts (Shallot Salt, for example) are still available. But the Fleur de Sel and other “gourmet” salts are not. I have no idea whether or not this will increase sales or buy loyalty with customers. In fact, some people are grousing about it on Chowhound.  And I must have missed it in an earlier catalog because here’s an Eat Wisconsin post from last November about it (it’s not favorable).

So because it irritated a few people, was Bill Penzey having a point of view on salt a branding mistake? I don’t think so. Penzey’s has always presented itself as a folksy company. The catalog features recipes (plus anecdotes) from customers. These invariably focus on middle America folks who want a better-than-supermarket quality spice and mostly engage in down home cooking. Just the kind of people to be worried about salt and appreciate the folksy tone and concern displayed in Bill’s note. The gourmet market is all about trends, and it’s clear that Penzey’s is in it for the long haul and wants to sell to a broader market even if that means alienating a few foodies. And that means that taking a stance against trendiness and for health is completely consistent with the brand and strengthens rather than weakens it. That’s the power of having and expressing a point of view.

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