The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has found that a milk company has committed deceptive marketing practices by declaring milk products of all other companies as unfit for human consumption.
It has endorsed the findings of Pakistan Dairy Association that the milk company has committed deceptive marketing practices.
In this regard, the CCP has issued an order against the said company in which the commission has imposed a huge penalty of Rs. 35 million on the said company. It was declared that the company deliberately withheld the information from the consumers and, on its own, declared the products of all other competitors as unhygienic and unhealthy for human consumption.
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The company has failed to substantiate the claims made in the advertisements for the milk products and their comparison with milk products of other companies.
The marketing campaign of the company is false and misleading and in fact capable of harming the business interest of members of the Pakistan Dairy Association as well as other competing undertakings operating within the relevant market.
The CCP further said that disregard for the applicable competition law and consumer welfare within the dairy industry is alarming and it must be ensured that such conducts are dealt with an iron hand and are not ignored.
The commission noted that in an increasingly health-conscious environment, consumers are getting more attuned to the health-related claims made by the marketers, especially those marketed to children and parents.
Each year, millions of rupees are spent on marketing products to the elderly, adults, youth, children and adolescents. By virtue of this order, the Commission deemed it appropriate to highlight the importance of truthful advertising.
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The business undertakings need to pay special care that their advertising and promotional material, irrespective of the medium, must truthfully demonstrate the pricing, character, method or place of production, properties, suitability for use and quality of their products and services, maintained CCP.
The commission further added “The milk company is hereby reprimanded to ensure responsible behavior in future with respect to the marketing of its business and is directed to cease and desist from making any claim with reference to its products in future without any proper and concrete basis.”
