In an article published in The Daily Monitor of October 28, UNBS’s Barbara Kamusiime warns us about a range of fake products on the Ugandan market. Whereas her intention is good, it’s a general ‘shotgun broadcasting’ approach, as we would say in marketing. She will serve us and the manufacturers better if specific brands are identified and isolated with key indicators separating genuine products from pirates. My contribution to her effort is on a ‘sledge’ packed and sold as Bushenyi Honey. Packed in a 200 gm transparent plastic tin, with a pink lid, this odd substance is common in many groceries around Kampala. It is a mixture of about a teaspoon of honey, and a strange thick brown substance, that is only discovered after skimming off the thin layer of honey. It is manufactured by a mysterious company called Lifeline Products, with no physical, postal, telephone, or e-mail address. Watch out, all you innocent honey lovers out there!! The onus is on both the key brand owners and UNBS to target the pirates of their brands on the market and ban them. Sara Lee used to be vigilant against fake KIWI, especially in Kenya and Rwanda. As for ‘strange’ brands and other ‘grays’ from Asia, UNBS, URA, ISO, ESO, CMI, UMA, KACITA and police need to save us! Kampala
