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When Quaker Oats Rejected 80-Year-Old Man’s Handwritten Contest Entry, Another Company Stepped In To Assist
Allegations of age discrimination swirled around the story of an 80-year-old Massachusetts man who said a major company rejected his contest entry because he submitted it the way he had grown accustomed to corresponding — on a handwritten card sent via postal service.
Instead of having his recipe for “Hawaiian Special” oatmeal considered for the $250,000 grand prize, William Smith received a rejection letter from Quaker Oats’ parent company, PepsiCo.
Since entries were supposed to be submitted online, the company explained to Smith that it would “not accept entries via alternative methods of entry.”
Many social media critics slammed Quaker Oats for not making an exception for an older entrant less familiar with digital communication.
Im a 3rd generation #Quaker girl, but after the toxic chemical suit & handwritten letter reject I may stop buying. https://t.co/vQ91THnrM6
— MCCALL (@LADYJAHRMANA) May 16, 2016
Where one company saw a recipe in need of rejection, however, another business found inspiration.
Tony Bartelson, who launched Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods with his wife in 2011, reached out to Western Journalism with a proposal that would put Smith’s recipe in front of consumers in many of the nation’s top grocers.
The company, Bartelson said, started as an alternative for their allergy-suffering kids and soon became a way for them to give back to causes important to them.
“My wife Patricia and I made it our mission to donate 10 percent of our profits to a variety of charities,” he explained. “We have been fortunate to have been able to exceed that figure annually.”
One way of continuing that goal, Bartelson added, lies in advancing and promoting Smith’s idea.
“Born out of our passion to give back,” he said, “we were intrigued when we read the article about Mr. Smith and the fact his recipe creation was not submitted using electronic media and was rejected when submitted via snail mail.”
Adding “Hawaiian Special” to a roster of unique oatmeal flavors “would be a nice way to acknowledge his passion for oatmeal and create his own flavor for him and design the cup and title to bear his name,” Bartelson concluded.
In addition to sending a case of the resulting product to Smith, shoppers will be able to find the oatmeal on store shelves across the U.S. and beyond in stores like Kroger, Fresh Market and Whole Foods. The collaboration is also set to be celebrated on Straw Propeller’s website.
Western Journalism reached out to Smith, who was receptive to the idea of getting to share his favorite oatmeal recipe with others. As for his experience with Quaker Oats, he said his mind is not made up on the product he has loyally consumed since World War II.
“I’ve eaten Quaker Oats for 70 years,” he said.
After his story began to spread, Smith said he did receive an apology from the company’s marketing department, though he still feels he experienced some level of discrimination based on his age.
“When you’re marketing your product,” he concluded, a company needs to consider “the whole entire market.”
Though he never expected to win the top prize, Smith did mention what he had in mind for the cash when he originally submitted the recipe.
“I was going to take and donate that to Friendship Baptist Church,” he said.
Smith said he had hoped to be able to help the Brimfield church pay down its mortgage.
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/quaker-rejected-80-year-old-mans-handwritten-contest-entry-another-company-stepped-assist/
