December 30, 2013 by Pearl Kim

The Bland Taste of Brand’s Essence

Traditionally, around this time of the year, we would order Brand’s Essence of Chicken as giveaways.  They have a fantastic range, with options to choose the essence with added ingredients like American Ginseng, Cordycep, Lycium, Tangkwei and Vitamin B Complex.  For corporate giveaways, we generally go for the basic one, taken by many to strengthen to body and help relieve fatique.

This year, however, the first batch of Brand’s Essence of Chicken we received (Batch: November 2013) taste diluted, prompting us to halt further orders to clarify the issue with Brand’s Customer Service.  They assure us that the extraction method and nutritional values remains the same, and in fact, there were feedback that some people might not like the taste of chicken and actually wanted a blander taste.

If this is the case, it may be better for Brand’s to market this lesser-taste form under a sub-category, because our first impression was that the whole stuff was being diluted somehow, somewhere in the manufacturing process.  Whereas before, we were able to add warm water to the original version and still enjoy it, now it already tasted quite close to plain water straight out from the bottle.  Individual taste preference aside, when we wish for chicken soup or broth, we prefer it with the taste of chicken, as that is part of the appreciation process.  It is small consolation to be told that the chicken essence remains as nutritious as before.  While we appreciate its lower cholesterol values as compared to chicken broth which can be oilier even when skin is removed, we aren’t ready for tasteless chicken soup when the word ‘chicken soup’ itself conjures anticipation of good taste with its aroma providing a sense of comfort.

For those who appreciated a brander form of Brand’s Essence of Chicken, though, here is an extract from their website –

Quality Chickens from Temperature-Controlled, Contamination-Free Farms
All BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken products are made with chickens supplied by leading poultry suppliers, reared in a pollution-free, temperature-controlled, and safely enclosed farm closely monitored by computers. Unlike traditional open chicken farms, these chickens are not exposed to other aviary animals, eliminating the risk of contamination.

Each chicken is inspected by a government veterinarian to ensure that it is healthy before it is processed in the GMP, ISO 9001 QMS, HACCP and Halal certified slaughterhouse. Chickens are then rigorously inspected by state-accredited veterinarians before a final check by a BRAND’S® quality assurance personnel to ensure the highest quality and hygiene before it is processed in BRAND’S® factory.