ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: The Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s findings against Unilever Pakistan and Friesland Campina Engro for misleading consumers by advertising their frozen desserts as ice cream.
The CCP had initiated proceedings on a complaint filed by Pakistan Fruit Juice Company Private Limited, the maker of Hico ice cream. The complaint alleged that Unilever and Friesland Campina Engro were engaged in deceptive marketing by portraying their frozen desserts as ice cream through television and social media advertisements.
Following a formal inquiry, the CCP issued show cause notices to Unilever Pakistan and Friesland Campina Engro, which market frozen desserts under the brand names of Walls and Omore.
In its order, the Commission relied on standards issued by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018. These standards clearly distinguish ice cream from frozen desserts. Ice cream is defined as a product made from milk, cream, or other dairy ingredients, while frozen desserts are prepared from a pasteurized mix that may include milk products and edible vegetable oils.
The CCP had directed both companies to stop presenting frozen desserts as ice cream in their advertisements, holding that such practices amounted to false and misleading information for consumers in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act.
However, the tribunal reduced the penalty on each company from PKR 75 million to PKR 15 million. In Unilever Pakistan’s case, an additional penalty for running advertisements that falsely compared its frozen dessert as healthier than dairy ice cream was reduced from PKR 20 million to PKR 5 million.
The Tribunal reiterates that the reduction of penalty should not be construed as condonation of the violation, but as a calibrated exercise of appellate discretion guided by the principles of proportionality and mitigating circumstances.
