Cut out berry fears
Brand guru says don’t let ‘idiots’ win
A LEADING marketing expert is telling the Gold Coast to “get on with it” and “chill out” amid the furore over strawberry tampering.
While supermarkets have pulled strawberries from the shelves and farmers have lost millions in wasted crops because needles were inserted in a few strawberries, Bond University branding and marketing expert Dr Stephen Holden says everyone just needs to calm down and get on with life.
“What we have to understand is we’re giving too much power to the idiots,” he said.
“It’s a little like terrorists – we don’t want terrorists to stop the whole world, we need to get on with it.
“When we make an enormous story out of what is a relatively low risk, we are letting these idiots win.’’
Since a needle was found in a strawberry from a Brisbane Woolworths last Sunday, at least 100 more cases have been reported in a range of fruit.
“Psychologically people have this fear button, our brains are tuned for fear, but we live in an increasingly safe world – we don’t need to be on the lookout for sabre tooth tigers anymore,’’ Dr Holden said.
“The fears we have are tiny, trivial and easily dealt with.
“Get on with it, cut up your fruit, support the farmers – deal done.”
That’s exactly what has been happening at The Paddock Bakery at Miami.
Paddock owner Chloe Watts agreed with Dr Holden, saying despite fears surrounding food tampering, the cafe had not changed its offering.
“We are continuing to use fresh strawberries in a number of our products including our well-known, fresh-baked Lindt muffins and strawberry tarts,” she said. “At Paddock we only source the highest quality produce and have full confidence in the premium quality our fresh fruit and vegetable supplier is delivering to us daily.
“We are able to stand with them in a time of need while also taking the necessary precautions in house such as hand cutting and inspecting every strawberry.
“Without our farmers we would be faced with an exceptionally bland and uninspired industry and it is up to us all to give them unwavering support through the tough times.”