The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs170 million on manufacturers and distributors of Walls and Omore products, blaming they were “misleading consumers” through advertising their “frozen desserts” as “ice cream”.
The Commission imposed penalty of Rs75 million on each of the two manufacturers of frozen desserts: M/s Unilever Pakistan and M/s FrieslandCampina Engro.
Additionally, a penalty of Rs20 million was also imposed on M/s Unilever Pakistan for conducting and disseminating false comparisons of their products as heathier to the dairy ice cream in its advertisements, which constitutes a violation of Section 10(2)(c) of the Competition Act, the CCP said in a statement on Friday.
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The Commission said it initiated the proceedings on a complaint filed by M/s Pakistan Fruit Juice Company (Private) Limited, alleging about two undertakings engaged in deceptive marketing by portraying their frozen desserts as ice cream through televised advertisements and social media campaigns.
Both companies have been directed to remove such advertisements from digital platforms also and make adequate disclosure about their products. A compliance report in this regard is to be submitted to the CCP within 30 days of the order.
The CCP, in the order, also directed the undertakings to desist from presenting frozen desserts as ice cream in their advertisements, as it “leads to distribution of false and misleading information to the consumers, prohibited pursuant to section 10 of the Competition Act”.
Earlier, the Commission directed a formal enquiry into the matter and later issued show cause notices to the two alleged manufacturers and distributors of the frozen desserts under the brand names of “Walls” and “Omore”.
The CCP bench, comprising the members Salman Amin and Saeed Ahmed Nawaz conducted the hearings. The bench while imposing the penalty in its order, inter-alia referred to the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) PS 969-2010 and the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018, which define frozen dessert and ice cream as two distinct products.
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Notably as per the standards, ice cream is made from milk, cream, or other dairy products, while frozen desserts are prepared from a pasteurised mix consisting of a combination of milk, milk products, and edible vegetable oils,
The order also referenced international jurisdictions, including the USA, Australia, and India, wherein food quality standards authorities have specified the term ice cream exclusively for dairy-based products. Noticeably, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in USA had also penalised an undertaking for marketing and misbranding its frozen dessert products by labeling them as ice cream, the CCP statement read.
Earlier this year, the CCP passed an order imposing fine of Rs60 million on Unilever Pakistan for airing “deceptive claims” through television commercials for its hygiene and cleansing products ‘Lifebuoy (Care and Protect) Soap’ and ‘Lifebuoy Hand Wash’, for which Unilever said it would challenge the order of the Commission.
“Unilever Pakistan is a responsible marketeer and a member of the Pakistan Advertisers Society,” Unilever Pakistan said in a statement then.
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