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Previous: Clean sweep campaign sign | Main | Next: Best Buy checkout page
April 27, 2007 12:03 AM
Broken: Konriko wild pecan rice
A reader named Jessica points out:
Someone bought this Konriko Wild Pecan rice for me.
It sounded really good...until I read the fine print at the bottom which reads:
100% natural, long-grain rice with a nutty aroma & subtle flavor that does not contain pecans or wild rice.
Whatever happened to truth in advertising? Why would Konriko call it "Wild Pecan Rice" if it contains neither pecans nor wild rice?
Well, first of all, nothing on the package says "wild rice" -- it says "wild pecan." So the "wild rice" disclaimer, at least, is not broken.
As for the pecan, I have to wonder whether this is actually an "Engrish" problem. Is this an Asian package where they are using the phrase "wild pecan aromatic" to mean "with wild pecan fragrance?" As in "VANILLA (flavored) WAFERS -- contains no vanilla," or (my favorite) "Turkey Ham (Kosher)." This would still be broken, but only in translation, as it were.
You missed a word. It says 'Wild Pecan Brand Aromatic Rice', which I'd interpret as aromatic rice sold under the 'Wild Pecan' brand name. I'd immediately presume it to be only a brand name, not a description, and don't think it's misleading.
The label doesn't literally say 'Wild Pecan Rice' - that's a distortion introduced by this blog post, not the packaging itself.
NRT is correct. However, if the label distinguished the brand name (Wild Pecan) from the product name (Aromatic Rice), it would be much better. Walking down the aisle in a busy grocery store, I could easily see someone thinking they are buying Wild Pecan Rice, as those are the three biggest, most prominent, and connected words.
A good reminder to read your labels closely.
Soooooo...... It's just rice then? What else does Wild Pecan brand make that does not contain pecans? Or anything wild? It looks strange to me that there are TWO prominently featured brand names on this package. Konriko and Wild Pecan. Seems to me that they could show more or use more words to describe their product if it wasn't all cluttered up with brand names.
Wild Pecan is the brand, Konriko is the company that makes that brand; many companies have multiple brands. Look at General Motors, for example. According to Wikipedia they made all of the following brands in 2005: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall.
However, the label, if not intentionally misleading, is confusing, and that makes for a poor customer experience when they find out that they didn't get what they thought they were getting.
Do not speak ill of my wife's favorite rice!
Konriko, a.k.a. Conrad Rice Mill, is in Louisiana, so this isn't an "Engrish" problem. They've been selling this unusual naturally-aromatic rice for ages, and it does have a vaguely pecan-like aroma.
A few years ago they started including a "flavoring packet" in the little grocery-store boxes of this product. Now THAT is broken! Throw the packet away and just enjoy the rice.
Their website is at http://www.conradricemill.com/
Wild rice is insinuated in the brand name. Notice how large the words Wild, Pecan, and Rice are. And the fact there is a disclaimer indicates they knew buyers might have some expectation of “Wild Rice with Pecans”. The packaging is designed to mislead the unwary. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if the Wild Pecan brand name is only used for this particular rice. Perfectly legal, but not very upstanding.
I agree that what this label is trying to sate is "aromatic rice made by Wild Pecan Brand", but this is still broken. If you have to include a second label to clarify the first label, the first label is broken.
Well Obviously Cold Duck wine is misleading because it contains no duck and is not 100% of the time cold! Oops, and same for Wild Turkey brand whiskey, contains no gobblers!
The problem I see with this package is simply the design. Since Both Konrico and Wild Pecan are brands, their fonts should be of similar size or font... Even better would be to say something like ”Konrico´s Wild Pecan Brand” and then ”Auromatic Long Grain Rice” thus making the disclaimer of containing no Pecans or Wild Rice unneeded
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This is not a post and it is not by Dylan.
Dylan
Posted by: Dylan at April 27, 2007 01:39 AM