Coca-Cola Nigeria misled consumers on product changes – FCCPC

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said it has concluded a comprehensive investigation into Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC), uncovering significant transparency and consumer communication breaches.

The inquiry, initiated in June 2019, centred on the companies’ shift from traditional sugar to non-nutritive sweeteners in their Coke, Fanta, and Sprite brands, a change not adequately communicated to consumers.

According to a statement signed by the management, FCCPC’s investigation revealed that Coca-Cola and NBC had repeatedly violated the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), particularly concerning misleading trade descriptions and unfair marketing tactics.

It said the companies marketed the “Original Taste, Less Sugar” variant as identical to the classic Coca-Cola, despite differences in formulation. This misrepresentation extended to their other products, with similar undisclosed changes in Fanta and Sprite.

By December 2020, the FCCPC said it had gathered substantial evidence demonstrating these violations.

The commission said it found that Coca-Cola and NBC had failed to provide clear and accurate information to consumers, intentionally misleading them about the nature of their products. The companies’ internal documents further indicated awareness of the ineffectiveness of their product differentiations and continued misleading practices.

In an attempt to resolve the matter, FCCPC said Coca-Cola and NBC initially agreed to adopt more transparent product descriptions. However, they later abandoned this commitment, opting for a business strategy that failed to meet regulatory standards.

This move prompted the FCCPC to re-engage with the companies, but Coca-Cola and NBC’s efforts remained inadequate despite numerous opportunities to comply.

On 29 July, the FCCPC issued a Final Order detailing its findings.

The order highlighted Coca-Cola and NBC’s use of misleading trade descriptions, particularly in the marketing of Coca-Cola Original Taste and its “Less Sugar” variant. The companies were also found to have employed unfair marketing tactics, violating several sections of the FCCPA.

“Misleading trade descriptions under Section 116 FCCPA by continuing to mislead consumers to believing 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,” it said.

READ ALSO: Why we fined Meta, WhatsApp $200 million — FCCPC

Also, the FCCPC noted that NBC misled consumers by using identical packaging for both the Zero Sugar and 50:50 variants of the Limca Lime-Lemon flavoured drink, further contravening regulatory standards.

The commission said it has reserved judgement on the issue of Abuse of Dominance and the appropriate penalties under the FCCPA and the Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020, which will be imposed in due course.