Dive Summary:
- Sales for the popular bourbon Maker’s Mark rose 44% in the first quarter after the company announced plans to lower the alcohol content by volume of its whiskey from 45% to 42%.
- Consumers of the brand began to purchase the product in an attempt to stock-up on what was believed to be the last remaining products with the original contents and proof.
- After thousands took to social media to protest the proposed changes, the company relented on its proposal via Twitter. Food Dive chronicled the brand's social media failure here.
You spoke. We listened. ow.ly/hN3kC
— Maker's Mark (@MakersMark) February 17, 2013
From the article:
“You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down,” the distiller wrote on its Facebook page Feb. 17. Nearly 28,000 people clicked a “like”, praising the decision. Companies of course tend to crow about product reformulation, but that is often the case when they improve the formulation, not diminish it.
