Nowadays, many e-commerce platforms sell "Internet celebrity snacks" with labels such as "research and development of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences" and "joint development of a research institute", and many social platform bloggers also use this as a selling point to market such products, attracting many consumers to buy. However, in a recent investigation, the Shanghai Municipal Consumer Rights Protection Commission found that some snack manufacturers did not cooperate with universities, involving false advertising, and food safety and quality were difficult to guarantee.
Internet celebrity snacks rub "high education", which actually captures the psychology of consumers. With the improvement of living standards, people's consumption concepts pay more and more attention to health, health and other factors. Coupled with the authority of well-known agricultural colleges and scientific research institutions in related fields, Internet celebrity snacks use "high education" to label themselves as high-quality and healthier, catering to consumers' demand for healthy food and obtaining higher sales. However, "high education" also means high cost, so some businesses make up something out of nothing, false publicity, and have the name of "high education".
The practice of pretending to be "highly educated" by Internet celebrity snacks not only violates the principle of honest management, but also violates relevant laws and regulations and disrupts the market order. First of all, the reputation of the merchant itself is damaged by false publicity. Once the product is debunked, or the product does not have its promotional effect, the reputation of the business will be "counterattacked". At the same time, such behaviors also damage the authority of colleges and universities and scientific research institutions, so that the "highly educated" products that have really worked hard to develop will follow.
Of course, the market welcomes truly "highly educated" snacks, which are good for consumers, businesses and research institutes: consumers buy healthy and safe food, merchants win reputation and sales, and universities gain fame and profits. Therefore, businesses should focus on improving product quality and avoid "shortcuts".Regulatory authorities should strengthen the verification of the authenticity of such products and increase the intensity of anti-counterfeiting;Universities and scientific research institutions should actively safeguard their own rights and interests, and promptly crack down on counterfeiting of "academic qualifications" to protect their scientific research achievements and reputation.
*:Economy** Author: Li Zhengyu.