5 replies to this topic

[djammur]

Please help me understand. I am being told that BRCGS is no longer British Retail Consortium and is now called Brand Reputation Through Compliance.

Is this true?? Or is the name still the same?

[pHruit]

The British Retail Consortium sold the BRC standards "brand" to a private for-profit business, LGC (which itself is a private business created from what used to be the UK's Laboratory of the Government Chemist), back in 2016.
If I remember correctly, the BRCGS term had been used previously, but the formal rebrand as BRCGS happened in 2019, probably as part of a push to make the separation from the original BRC (which still exists as a trade body for retailers in Britain) clearer and drive further international sales - there are plenty of places where the "British" element of the original name probably wasn't that helpful

 

Edit: As for the "Brand Reputation through Compliance" moniker, I've seen this used by various certification bodies, but there aren't many references to it in BRCGS's own website/documents that I recall seeing - for all intents and purposes the name is now basically just BRCGS.

Edited by pHruit, 15 February 2022 - 06:11 PM.

[djammur]

I am not sure I follow you. So the standard is now Brand Reputation through Compliance?
Or maybe I should ask what BRCGS stands for. 😂

[pHruit]

The standard basically now seems to just be BRCGS - the "brand reputation through compliance" thing doesn't really seem to be used by BRCGS themselves, other than on the front page of their annual report.

[Charles.C]

The standard basically now seems to just be BRCGS - the "brand reputation through compliance" thing doesn't really seem to be used by BRCGS themselves, other than on the front page of their annual report.

Hi pHruit,

 

I can appreciate djammur's confusion. "Brand" can be a highly flexible entity.

 

This topic was previously "investigated" here in 2019 albeit with a variety of conclusions -

 

https://www.ifsqn.co...for-in-issue-8/

 

There does seem to be some "basis"  behind the interpretation of BRCGS as  "Brand Reputation ...." , eg see -

 

https://www.highspee...standing-brcgs/

https://1stc.uk/what...rcgs-stand-for/

 

However it is unclear (to me) as to whether the above "name" was more a case of "bestowed upon" rather than chosen.

 

Google seems to have become equally confused eg -

 

BRC is now BRCGS – which stands for British Retail Consortium Global Standards. Essentially, they just incorporated the name of the standards that they are known for across the food industry. ... BRCGS is simply a brand change to adopt a common industry name for the standards BRC uses.

 and yet also

Formerly the British Retail Consortium, Brand Reputation through Compliance (BRC), is a globally recognised UK trade organisation. Which established a series standard to help companies comply with food safety legislation, and to provide guidelines for the manufacture of safe, quality food products.

 

 

Regardless, your (top) comment on "absence" seems to be justified by examination of BRCGS's own page and perusal of the report linked within -

 

https://www.brcgs.com/brand-owners/

 

@djammur - the answers to yr 3 specific questions seem to be that from an auditee's POV, "BRC" = "BRCGS"  so >  (No x 3) 

Edited by Charles.C, 16 February 2022 - 05:17 AM.
revised several times

[djammur]

Yup, super confusing! Thanks!!