Fallout from milk brand crisis spreads to Southeast Asia

Singapore's Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has decided to suspend the sale of products using milk from China, while Malaysia and Brunei have announced bans on milk products from China.

Three products in Singapore - White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a milk-based treat popular with children and adults, Dutch Lady’s strawberry-flavoured milk and Yili Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yoghurt - have been found contaminated by melamine. A number of confectionery products including Snickers bars, M&Ms, Nabisco Chicken In A Biskit, Dove chocolate bars, Mentos yogurt balls, Oreo wafer sticks and Want Want Take One Baby Bites have also been removed from 7-Eleven stores in the island state.

Branding experts say that brands impacted by the tainted milk scare should be open about their products to win back public confidence and prevent long-term damage.

Neil Hudspeth, CEO of The Brand Union, Asia-Pacific says that people connect emotionally with brands and a hint of suspicion can ruin the relationship that consumers have with the brands. "Consumers have long memories and most consumers will ask: ‘Can I trust it again?’ So the brands need to actively communicate their quality control and management initiatives".

However, Chris Lee, creative director of Asylum in Singapore, said the milk scare would only impact the brands in the short term. "It will not have a very big impact in the long term. What the brands involved in this scare need to do is to do adequate testing and issue statements about their products being safe."

Hudspeth also feels that brands trying to communicate about quality need to have a clear positioning.

"Brand association with China has rubbed off to all brands that are made there and brands will need to address these issues to regain emotional trust and assurance."