Consumer brandmark hits the streets

Media release: Consumer brandmark hits the streets

Consumer NZ is taking an exciting new step, by allowing companies whose products achieve its "Consumer Recommends" status the opportunity to use that branding on their products and promotions.

"Allowing manufacturers and service providers to use our brand will provide consumers with useful at-a-glance information when they are shopping. And we're hoping the increased presence on the street will show more people the breadth of our research as well as the value of our testing," Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said.

The move follows a similar step taken by sister consumer organisation Which? in the United Kingdom, which also saw it as a way of increasing its presence on the 'High Street', Ms Chetwin said.

The licensing programme will also provide Consumer NZ with a new revenue stream that will allow it to increase the range of products it researches and tests. All income will be put back into the testing and research programme.

Ms Chetwin said Consumer NZ would be closely guarding its independence. "We won't be changing the ways we do things or the selection process for testing, which is based on our own market research. And we'll continue to buy products like ordinary consumers do."

Ms Chetwin said Consumer had undertaken considerable research before taking this step. That research showed 73 percent of people looked for information to help in their decision making in-store. And at least 83 percent of subscribers or non-subscribers to Consumer would 'probably' or 'definitely' be more likely to purchase a product that had the "Consumer Recommends" brandmark on it.

"We're delighted the first company to take up the brandmark is Sunbeam, with its Consumer Recommends manual espresso machine Sunbeam Cafe Latte EM5600 - a company that has been manufacturing appliances for even longer than we have been testing them."

ENDS

© Scoop Media