See the next company on FCCPC radar to be fined for misleading Nigerians

• The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has slammed Coca-Cola for deceiving consumers
• The agency said Coca-Cola used unfair practices and abandoned its deal with FCCPC
• It also said NBC used identical packaging for Zero Sugar on its 50:50 variant Limca Lime-Lemon flavoured drink

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

A few days after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) slammed Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, with a $220 million fine, the Commission has warned Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) of using misleading trade descriptions.

FCCPC disclosed in a statement on Thursday, August 1, 2024, that the companies are operating unfair tactics and misleading consumers.

FCCPC Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello. Credit: FCCPC
Source: Facebook

Coca-Cola adopts a different strategy

The Commission said the soft drinks giant and NBC are guilty of deceiving consumers by describing the variant of its Coca-Cola Original Taste, Less Sugar, as the same as its Original Taste variant.

FCCPC said that Coca-Cola and NBC ditched months of work and mutual agreements with the Commission for a different business tactic.

According to FCCPC, the new strategy must still meet accepted standards.

Reports say the agency said after regulatory interventions, the firms still failed to take the necessary steps to correct the misleading behaviour, showing that it acted intentionally by misrepresenting Coca-Cola Original Taste, Less Sugar as Coca-Cola Original Taste.

It said NBC used identical packaging for Zero Sugar on its 50:50 variant of the Limca Lime-Lemon flavoured drink, leading to misleading consumers and violating the FCCPA Act.

FCCPC responds to WhatsApp’s threats

The Guardian reported that the agency ordered the immediate conduct of a thorough advertorial campaign of all its product variants to provide consumers with clear and adequate identification factors that allow them to distinguish one variant from the other clearly.

Legit.ng previously reported that following threats by the instant messaging platform WhatsApp to exit Nigeria, FCCPC has labelled the statement as diversionary and is trying to whip up public sentiments.

The FCCPC responded to recent reports suggesting that WhatsApp, the popular messaging platform, could exit the Nigerian market over a $220 million fine for alleged data privacy violations.

Reports citing a WhatsApp spokesperson claimed that the fine is too hefty and would make WhatsApp impossible to operate in Nigeria or globally. 

But defending its decision, in a statement shared on X, FCCPC described the fine on WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated, as a positive step towards a fairer digital market in Nigeria. 

Full List of FCCPC, CBN-approved loan app companies

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued a new list of 154 companies granted full approval to operate loan apps in Nigeria.

Earlier, the FCCPC delisted the approved companies for ‘clean up.’ After adding apps each firm owns under its approval list, the newly released list is more detailed.

The list of the apps associated with the firms will let the customer identify the companies behind the apps they use and also reduce incidents of app duplicity by the companies.

Source: Legit.ng