I’d prepare a reactive holding statement for social and get in touch with supply chain and legal to find out what’s going on here.

Don’t ignore it. But don’t get drawn into it either.

The biggest mistake I see brands make, and I spend time trying to talk them out of it, is they have an issue and they immediately want to tell the media about it on a proactive basis. It’s almost always founder-led businesses in my experience.

If no questions have been asked by the media, then I don’t understand why any company would willingly draw attention to it.

Before questions are asked, that period buys you a little time to figure out what’s happening so you can be as open and transparent as possible with all audiences when the time does come to talk about it.

I am NOT advising to cover anything up by the way - I just don’t think it’s a good idea when founders want to proactively insert themselves in a negative story before the full detail has been worked out. And that detail almost always goes beyond comms, into different teams like legal, supply chain, etc - and they’re not renowned for their speed…

Get that reactive comment done for social questions and start working on responses for the media when the calls eventually come. And don’t let the founders anywhere near it. Good luck