Question

Ashima purchased a bottle of tomato-sauce from the local grocery shop. The information provided on the bottle was not clear. She fell sick on consuming it. She filed a case in the District Forum under Consumer Protection Act and got the relief.

a. Identify the important aspect neglected by the marketer in the above case.

b. Explain briefly the functions of the aspect identified in (a) above.

Vasvi purchased a bottle of pickle from the local grocery shop. The information provided on the bottle was not clear. She fell sick on consuming it. She filed a case in the District forum under Consumer Protection Act and got the relief.

a. Identify the important aspect neglected by the marketer in the above case.

b. Explain briefly the functions of the aspect identified in (a) above.

Answer 1

a. ‘Labelling’ is the important aspect which is being ignored by the marketer in the given scenario.

b. Functions of labelling.

i. Providing information about the product: Label of a product provides targeted consumers with all the relevant information regarding the ingredients used in the project. It also informs consumers about the procedure to use the product in its best manner. Various safety guidelines are also provided on a label to make sure consumers do not end up hurting themselves or damaging their health.

ii. Brand building: A well-designed label assists in building a positive brand value of the product in the minds of consumers. Consumers can recognise their desired product from its label in the supermarket and be assured about the quality standards.

iii. Legal compliance: A label mentions relevant information which is required to be displayed according to various consumer laws. This makes a company socially responsible in the eyes of the law. It also saves the company from being sued under various consumer laws.

iv. Increasing sales: A product with an attractive label catches the attention of a higher number of consumers than a product with a poorly designed label. This implies that labelling also helps in increasing sales by increasing the market reach of the product.

v. Monitoring quality: Labels assigned to different products allow an organisation to check quality standards and to rectify any variations from the standard quality. Rating products is also an option if the quality of different units of the same product varies substantially in production.

vi. Information Required for Law: Label also provides and mentions the information which are required to be mentioned as per the law. For example, on a packet of tobacco it is written 'chewing tobacco is injurious to health.