Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has pointed fingers at Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Bottling Company for allegedly using deceptive trade descriptions and unfair marketing strategies in their products under the label ‘Original Taste, less Sugar’.
In a statement released to NewsNow on Thursday, FCCPC made the disclosure.
The commission, in the statement, has found Coca-Cola Nigeria and NBC in violation of section 116 of the FCCPC Act, as well as section 124 1(a) of the Commission’s Establishment Act.
After years of investigation, FCCPC accused Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd and NBC of misleading the public by presenting the variant ‘Original Taste, Less Sugar’ as the same in terms of formulation as its ‘Original Taste’ variant.
Highlighting the issue of Abuse of Dominance, the Commission mentioned that appropriate penalties under the FCCPA and Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020 (APR) will be enforced in due time.
“Hence, the Commission issued its Final Order on Coca-Cola and NBC on July 29, 2024, as the deceptive conduct persisted,” stated the Commission, outlining its findings:
“Misleading trade descriptions under Section 116 FCCPA by continuously leading consumers to believe Coca-Cola Original Taste is not significantly 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 similar packaging, making it challenging to distinguish from Coca-Cola Original Taste, which is in violation of Sections 123(1)(a), (b), and (c) of the FCCPA,” the commission announced.
As of the time of reporting this, Coca-Cola has not responded to the allegations.