Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Bottling Company are facing allegations from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for using a misleading trade description and unfair marketing tactics in their products, claiming ‘Original Taste, less Sugar’.
In a statement released to NewsNow on Thursday, FCCPC revealed the findings of its investigation, stating that Coca-Cola Nigeria and NBC had violated section 116 of the FCCPC Act and section 124 1(a) of the Commission’s Establishment Act.
The accusation stems from the claim that Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd and NBC were deceiving the public by marketing the variant ‘Original Taste, Less Sugar’ as identical to the ‘Original Taste’ variant in terms of formulation.
FCCPC further emphasized that the issue of Abuse of Dominance and the corresponding penalties under the FCCPA and Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020 (APR) are under consideration for regulatory action, with penalties to be enforced in the future.
Having issued a Final Order on Coca-Cola and NBC on July 29, 2024, the Commission listed its findings:
• Misleading trade descriptions under Section 116 FCCPA by continuing to mislead consumers regarding the difference between Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Original Taste ‘Less Sugar’.
• Unfair marketing tactics conflicting with Section 124(1)(a) of the FCCPA, where Coca-Cola Nigeria marketed Coca-Cola Original Taste Less Sugar in packaging that was initially indistinguishable and later not adequately differentiable from Coca-Cola Original Taste, against Sections 123(1)(a), (b), and (c) of the FCCPA.
As of the filing of this report, Coca-Cola has not responded to the accusations.