The Culture of an Icon

What does it mean to have an iconic brand? It means your logo is instantly recognized without its words. It means generations not only identify with your brand, but associate favorable, even fond, memories with your name. It means you are a household word, and just the mention of your product can incite discussion.

At least that’s what it means to be the iconic brand White Castle in the heart of Ohio. I grew up in northern Ohio where White Castle was present but not the icon that it is in central Ohio, where it holds deep roots and historical ties. In fact, for the women of my family of the generations both above and below me, White Castle carries heartfelt father-daughter memories.

My mother, who is from south Columbus, remembers her father bringing home White Castle burgers by the sackful. The family would sit out on the porch eating the mini burgers. It was one of her favorite times as a small child. My daughter’s visits to White Castle with her Columbus-born father are held so dear that she virtually jumped at the chance to join in on the plant tour as the photographer’s assistant.

But it wasn’t until I attended Ohio State that I was fully acquainted with the brand and its loyal following. And it wasn’t until I visited the White Castle processing plant in Vandalia, Ohio, for this issue’s cover profile (page 10) that I, myself, gained an incredible respect for this often (in the words of today’s youth) “dissed” burger. A respect, not only for the food safety and quality practices that I witnessed, but for the people who assemble the frozen burger twin packs.

In QA articles, we frequently discuss the building of a food safety culture in the plant. As defined by Dictionary.com, culture is “the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent.” Thus, it is the people who make the culture, and the people of White Castle are indeed culture builders. This was exemplified in the care taken at every station; the propensity of Quality Manager Whitney Baker to step up to the line at various stages of our tour to help out, align a bun, inspect a package—fully gloved and hairnetted, of course; and the invitation for my daughter to try her hand at packaging (fully gloved and hairnetted, of course).

As the photo above shows, Kim was thrilled with the experience, and her “co-workers” were as cheerfully helpful as if she truly were a new hire on the line. It was an enthusiasm that was noticeable at all times throughout the plant—not simply adopted to impress the reporter and her daughter. It is just such commitment that creates a culture of food safety, quality, employee well-being—and the type of customer loyalty that makes a company an icon ... and #1 in its product segment.

My visit to White Castle was one of the most intriguing that I have made. I hope you find the feature to be just as intriguingly interesting.

The author is Editor of QA magazine. She can be reached at llupo@gie.net.