No Stick Cooking Sprays: Stop Greasy Marketing!

Being politically correct, this is irritating.  Being honest, this pisses me off.

I was cooking scrambled eggs recently and pulled out the can of no stick cooking spray.  With a minute on my hands as the eggs cooked, I did what most people do - I read the label (I didn't have a cereal box handy!).  What I read shocked and embarrassed me.

In the "Nutritional Facts" section of the can, it said that a serving had zero calories or fat.  But knowing these sprays were basically cooking oil, I wondered how this could be.  As I read on, I learned that whomever designed the label (the marketing department, I presume), decided that one "serving" equaled a quarter second spritz.  I'm not sure about you, but my 40-something year old reflexes don't let me do much in a quarter second any more!

As I continued to read, later in the label it stated that a one second spray covers a ten inch skillet...more like it!  And a one second spray contributes one gram of fat and nine calories.  Terrific...even a one second spray is low in fat and calories!

So why did they try and hide (mislead?) their nutritional values by stating that a quarter second spray has zero fat or calories, knowing full well that nobody uses only a quarter of a second spray?  Maybe it's because at a quarter second spray, they can (and do) claim a can has almost 800 servings! (And of course, using a more realistic one second spray means each can really has ~200 servings...still quite a bit, I might add, from one can!)

And considering the world through a sales person's lense, my assumption is that the marketers are training the sales team on how to position the product using the quarter second claim (it's still better for you than butter even with a full second's spray!) to distributors, wholesalers and grocers using this baloney.  Ugh.

So as a sales and marketing guy who's proud of being on the "commercial" side of business life and is trying to uphold a reputation, I say to my colleagues:  Be ethical and transparent.  If your product is better, then share the great news in a captivating manner that differentiates you from your competition.  And charge for that value.

I'm still not sure why the no stick cooking spray folks are hiding their real value...even at a full one second and 200 servings it seems like a great product.  Maybe there's a product extension opportunity...stop the greasy marketing practices from sticking!


Copyright @ Keith Chaitoff 2012