The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has accused Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, for allegedly misleading trade descriptions and unfair marketing communication appeals in their products, stating ‘Original Taste, less Sugar.’
This was disclosed in a statement on Thursday by the Commission which found Coca-Cola Nigeria and NBC guilty, in violation of section 116 of the FCCPC Act as well as section 124 1(a) of the Commission’s Establishment Act.
Giving details of the accusation of years of investigation, FCCPC stated that Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd and NBC were guilty of deceiving the public by describing the variant of its Coca-Cola ‘Original Taste, Less Sugar’ as the same as its ‘Original Taste’ variant in terms of formulation.
The Commission emphasized that the issue of Abuse of Dominance and the appropriate penalty under the FCCPA and Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020 (APR) have been reserved for further regulatory action, with penalties to be imposed in due course.
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“Accordingly, and considering that the conduct continues and remains, the Commission has entered, issued and served its Final Order on Coca-Cola and NBC on July 29, 2024. The Final Order contains the Commission’s findings:
“Misleading trade descriptions under Section 116 FCCPA by continuing to mislead consumers to believe Coca-Cola Original Taste is not materially different from Coca-Cola Original Taste ‘Less Sugar’.
“Unfair marketing tactics: Contrary to Section 124(1)(a) of the FCCPA, Coca-Cola Nigeria markets Coca-Cola Original Taste Less Sugar in packaging first, indistinguishable, and now not sufficiently distinguishable from Coca-Cola Original Taste, contrary to Sections 123(1)(a), (b), and (c) of the FCCPA”, the commission stated.
Coca-Cola and the NBC are yet to react to the accusation levelled against them as of the time of this report.
