2. Odwalla
• Odwalla Inc is an American food product company that sells fruit juice, smoothies
and food bars. It was founded in Santa Cruz, California, in 1980 and is
headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California.
• The founders of the company are Greg Steltenpohl, Gerry Percy, and Bonnie
Bassett.
•The trio began by squeezing orange juice with a secondhand juicer in a shed in
Steltenpohl's backyard. They sold their product from the back of a Volkswagen van
to local restaurants.
•After 5 years of growth (annual sales rising 30% per year) and immense expansion,
the company was incorporated in 1985.
3. The Problem:
•In November, after various researches that were conducted ,health officials in
Washington state confirmed & informed the company that they had discovered a link
between several cases of E. coli and Odwalla fresh apple juice.
•One child died and more than 60 people in the Western United States and Canada
became sick after drinking the juice.
•Sales went down by 90%
•Odwalla's stock price fell 34%.
•More than 20 personal-injury lawsuits were filed against the company.
4. What the Company did:
• Customers were
reimbursed• Defended the
sanitation process
in the media
5. Timeline:
30th October
1996: The E coil
outbreak is first
linked to Odwalla.
Odwalla
immediately
issues a recall
31st October
1996: Odwalla
hires a PR firm.
1st
November,1996:
Odwalla expands
recall to include
carrot juice. It
offers to pay
medical bills and
also launches its
website.
2nd
November,2015:
Recall was
completed
4th November
2015: FDA
confirms
presence of
Ecoil in
Odwalla
products.
5th November,
2015: Odwalla
announces new
potential heat
pasteurization
process.
7. What we learn:
Very essential to establish a crisis team. You might not need them, but when
there are crisis, you will be glad that you had it
The well being of the end customers is of utmost importance.
Quick actions have to be taken.
There has to be constant interactions with the media.
The main aim should be to regaining the trust.
Learn from your mistakes.
