Rebuttal to Linda Rinta's Op-Ed

9/24/99 - I used to read the stressline because I thought it was interesting to see what people thought about the cranberry business. Now as I read it, I believe the stressline is like the "Enquirer"--it is a gossip page that has no real meaning or value and is for amusement purposes only. It just wants to find a way to trash Ocean Spray and the people who work there (including growers). The main contributors to this stressline are very bitter people who like to cause controversy. Instead of sitting in front of your computer and trashing Ocean Spray, the Board and management, why don't some of you walk down the juice isle at your local grocery store. You will see that competition is fierce and everyone with a juicer is making juice. I remember going to the store with my mom and the only juice in the isle was Ocean Spray and couple of generic brands. But now there are so many choices and it can be confusing. Everyone claims their juice is "better than Ocean Spray" (kind of amusing that they are comparing to the best--they're not comparing to Northland or Tropicana because those brands cannot compete with Ocean Spray's flavor). I also want you to watch some of the consumers and see what they do when they walk the isles. Most of the people I see are still buying Ocean Spray. Sometimes they purchase "the other brands," but I believe it's just to try something else--just once. I know my family and friends buy Ocean Spray because it tastes better than the other brands and they have tried other brands. Most of the consumers who try other brands come back to Ocean Spray for a high quality juice drink.

I also want you to take some time and think back to a few years ago when the "other brands" (i.e., Northland, Decas, Cliffstar, and a few others) raised their per barrel price to growers to astronomical figures (and some of those who raised their prices are having some major difficulties--some have gone bankrupt). In my opinion this was the start of the problems--not Tom, not the Board, not management. The other brands had you believing that the little tart red berry that you grow is worth $85 per barrel--only if you could add in the hard work and sweat that growers put into their crops. You definitely had your egos inflated by these other companies--who wouldn't that is a lot of money (are you still getting that much?). Ocean Spray had to compete against those figures and in doing so it hurt the company. A lot of cutting back had to be done in order to compete with these per barrel prices. But they wanted to keep growers in the cooperative and try to keep those who were loyal to Ocean Spray happy. The results of those sacrifices (advertising cut backs, promotional cut backs, etc.) are now coming back to hurt everyone--the growers who left, the Board, management, everyone.

Sure there are other things that you can (and do) point your fingers at and blame for some, but not all of Ocean Spray's current problems (new computer system, advertising, etc.) but you shouldn't criticize and point your finger at Tom or your Board of Directors. They really have a passion for Ocean Spray. They don't want to see Ocean Spray in this condition. If you actually listen to them speak about Ocean Spray and the cranberry business and see how much time and effort they put into their jobs trying to push the business, build a better Ocean Spray, keep the growers happy, and actually increase the money they give back to the growers, you would know they are on the growers' side and want to work together to rebuild Ocean Spray. Ocean Spray and the growers had it real good for a while (being one of the only major juice beverages in the grocery isle for a long time). But as the world evolves, things change at a faster pace now and sometimes it is hard to keep up and even harder to get ahead.

So instead of being so mean, hurtful and placing blame on everyone else, I ask that you show some patience and look positively to the future. The business is turning around and I can almost guarantee (because the only guarantee in life is death) that you will see Ocean Spray back on top and this period in Ocean Spray will be just another piece of Ocean Spray history.

I firmly believe that good things happen to good people and the people who work for Ocean Spray (including growers, management, and employees) are good people and believe in Ocean Spray and good things will happen to Ocean Spray--just keep the faith and be positive.

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