In this week’s issue, corporate financier Tom Lindsay makes a brilliant case for Warren Buffett et al’s apparently toppy valuation of Heinz following its $23bn acquisition last Thursday.

And the performance and strategy of Heinz in the UK since president Matt Hill’s arrival (The Grocer, 9 February) also provides some interesting insight into the possibilities for this brand, with this week’s launch of Heinz gluten-free pasta just the latest example of its willingness to stretch the brand into fast-growth markets. Heinz may be a legacy business, as Hill told The Grocer, but as Lindsay says, it is a legacy that may last many more lifetimes, and as such, is a rare jewel.

Can the same be said of Findus? In this week’s poll, 39% said the brand was doomed following the horsemeat lasagne fiasco. On the other hand, 61% feel it’s in with a chance.

” Even before ‘Horsegate’, Findus was in a mess. It will take brilliant leadership and communication to prevent its terminal decline”

Adam Leyland, Editor

What respondents may not know is that even before ‘Horsegate’, Findus was in a mess, with sales plummeting even faster than the frozen ready meals category as a whole. Now it has suffered severe reputational damage because of its handling of the crisis.

Describing the discovery as a ‘labelling issue’ was bad. So too has been its slow, begrudging and defensive communications since. But on a more subtle level, it has revealed itself to consumers as more private label than brand.

By outsourcing production and pitching up in the middle of a crisis in the company of Tesco Everyday Value and Aldi Today’s Special products, it has massively devalued whatever brand equity used to sit in the Findus name. In consumers’ eyes, if Comigel is making basic meat products for discounters, why should Findus be any more ‘special’?

This week, Findus UK’s boss finally stuck his neck out, albeit via email, revealing to The Grocer a five-point supply chain overhaul to regain consumer trust. But PR experts are clear the communication culture needs equally root and branch examination. If Malcolm Walker’s TV appearances last weekend were ill-judged, the arrival of new Findus Group boss James Hill can’t come soon enough.