Always look for the official Robin Red® logo and licence.
In 2011, we launched an initiative to make it easier for anglers to locate genuine Robin Red. The initiative involved awarding bona fide bait firms with a unique Robin Red logo and licence number – here’s ours:
We encourage bait firms to display this logo in baits containing fair amounts of Robin Red.
We also launched our Approved Bait Firms page which displays the company details of brands that purchase regular quantities of fresh Robin Red.
We’re working hard to make sure anglers don’t get duped into buying fake Robin Red or baits purporting to contain Robin Red that do not.
Angling Publications were quick to ask a few questions about the logo and we thought the interview might help answer a few of your Robin Red questions:
Q: Could you tell me how the licensing/official logo route came into being?
We introduced the new logo/licence to help anglers identify baits containing the genuine ROBIN RED. Our logic is simple: if a bait firm advertises bait as having ROBIN RED in it, there should be reasonable levels of ROBIN RED contained in the bait – not just a teaspoonful!
Our market research shows that anglers will pay more for a bait containing ROBIN RED, because they know ROBIN RED works. Misusing this USP is unfair on anglers; therefore, we’ll do whatever it takes to support the lions’ share of European bait firms that do a great job with ROBIN RED, but we’ll deal separately (legally if required) with those who seek to gain from our intellectual property and take advantage of anglers’ trust and goodwill.
We constantly update our list of approved bait firms online (If a company uses ROBIN RED but doesn’t purchase it direct from Haith’s they should contact us and we will work to add them to the list).
Q: And would you be able to tell me how many companies have now signed up for the licence?
Using ROBIN RED in a transparent fashion is a condition of trading with Haith’s and we will withdraw a logo/licence if a bait firm misuses the trust anglers place in the Haith’s brand.
Some of the biggest bait firms in the market are no strangers to coming clean over the inclusion of ROBIN RED in their baits – Sensas, CC Moore, Dynamite Baits... the list goes on as does the approval of the lengths we’re going to make it easier for anglers to purchase ROBIN RED. However, our Approved Bait Firm list also features small, progressive bait makers who do a cracking job of making high-quality baits and these businesses bring growth to the market, whereas copyists and fake ROBIN RED producers take value from the market without investment. We don’t want anglers to let their money fall into that black hole!
Q: Also would you be able to clarify something for me, the information that I’ve read often says that the logo/licence number ‘can’ be used on packaging to prove that its genuine Robin Red used in the product. Does this mean that it’s optional for companies to print the logo on their packaging, or is it expected that it’s included?
Good question. Of course not all bait firms choose to reveal that their bait includes ROBIN RED. They don’t want anglers to know it’s the active additive that’s making the bait work. If, in this case, bait firms choose NOT to mention that bait contains ROBIN RED then they don’t have to use the logo, of course.
We encourage the use of the logo/licence number on packaging AS LONG AS ROBIN RED IS INCLUDED IN THE BAIT. And it has to be included at an inclusion rate that works. The licence and logo is there simply to help anglers find baits that include ROBIN RED and at inclusion rates that work.
We do, however, understand that bait firms need the flexibility to experiment with ROBIN RED inclusion rates across a range of baits and this fluctuation in additive rates creates healthy product differentiation across the market. This differentiation offers anglers products to support fishing sessions in many different locations throughout Europe. We’re not here to stop bait firms developing great baits, but we are here to make certain anglers are getting the ROBIN RED that they’re paying for.
Why should we care?
If an angler has taken a day off work or left his/her family at home for the weekend etc., he/she should be able to trust what’s in the bag and hopefully get great results. All that said – we don’t inspect bait firms’ warehouses and bills of materials so there’s a great amount of fair play at work here, but that’s what Haith’s Baits does best: play fair!
Bait firms will need time to add the new logo to packaging – but they are already introducing the logo to their websites.
Written by Simon H. King
