When a company reverts to an original product formulation within a year of unveiling a new recipe, you know that someone, somewhere has messed-up big time. Last April, Gaymers decided to reduce the alcohol content of its Blackthorn cider, unleashing the Wankthorn protest across the West Country … Facebook groups were formed, posters defaced and bearded men in smocks started running amock … I made up the last bit.
Less than a year later, Gaymers has decided to revert to the original formulation and rather than admitting that they made a big mistake – no doubt wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds in the process - the company’s marketers are trying to play the consumer empowerment card. If they were that bothered about what their customers thought, they wouldn’t have changed the product in the first place. This isn’t a victory for consumer power … it is an embarrassing marketing cock-up. Cheers.
