Tiger Brands is South Africa’s largest food producer and plays a critical role in nourishing communities across the continent.

Its purpose, to nourish and nurture more life every day, places quality and food safety at the centre of its responsibility to consumers.

In 2021, Tiger Brands identified a potential packaging defect affecting a small number of KOO and Hugo’s canned vegetable products packed between 1 May 2019 and 5 May 2021. The cans, supplied by a third-party packaging supplier, may have had a defective side seam weld that could cause leakage.

The issue was detected through Tiger Brands’ regular internal quality assurance processes. Although the probability of illness or injury was low, the company estimated that approximately 20 million cans were affected, representing around 9% of annual canned goods production.

In consultation with the National Consumer Commission, Tiger Brands initiated a precautionary withdrawal and voluntary recall on 26 July 2021 in the best interest of consumers.

The recall carried significant reputational risk.

Tiger Brands had previously faced negative public perception following the listeriosis outbreak and related class-action lawsuit, meaning any food safety issue required especially careful handling.

The communication challenge was to deliver an integrated national recall campaign that asked consumers to return affected products while minimising panic and protecting trust in both Tiger Brands and its product brands.

The campaign had to be developed under tight constraints:

• Only 11 days from brief to implementation.
• Strict confidentiality during planning.
• A limited team managing a highly sensitive issue.
• The need to meet National Consumer Commission requirements.
• The need to keep stakeholders informed and aligned.
• The risk of consumer concern around food safety and security.

The objective was clear: communicate openly, simply, and responsibly, while proving that Tiger Brands and KOO were acting in the best interest of consumers.

Transparency was non-negotiable.

We developed an integrated communication strategy built around clear, honest, and accessible recall messaging. The priority was to help consumers understand what had happened, identify affected cans, and return products for a full refund.

An inter-agency team was established across public relations, digital, media, consumer care, and social media. A core message framework ensured consistency across every channel and audience.

The rollout began with a SENS announcement at 08:30 on Monday, 26 July 2021, followed by a coordinated cascade across owned, earned, paid, retail, digital, and consumer channels.

Twice-daily check-ins during the first week and daily check-ins in the second week allowed the team to manage emerging issues, monitor sentiment, and respond quickly.