KARACHI: In a chilling blow to “deceptive marketing,” the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Friday imposed a hefty fine of Rs75 million ($269,530) each on two multinational companies, Unilever Pakistan and Friesland Campina Engro, for misleading consumers by advertising their products as “ice cream.”
The CCP took action following a complaint by Pakistan Fruit Juice Company, the manufacturer of “Hico,” which objected to the marketing practices adopted by its rivals.
The CCP maintained that the two companies were selling “frozen desserts” while passing them off as ice cream, a distinct product category made from milk, cream or other dairy products.
“It is held that a false and misleading impression of ‘frozen dessert’ as ‘ice cream’ was created and continued by the Respondents through their advertisements, in order to make the consumers believe that ‘frozen dessert’ products are also ‘ice cream,’” the CCP said in its written order.
“The Respondents advertised, labelled and marketed their products without disclosing the true nature of their products as frozen desserts,” it continued, adding that the two companies “took economic advantage of their deceptive marketing practices to the detriment of consumers welfare.”
The CCP’s ruling referenced the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018, which define “frozen dessert” and “ice cream” as distinct products.
According to these standards, “ice cream” is made from milk, cream, or other dairy products, while “frozen desserts” are prepared from a pasteurized mix consisting of edible vegetable oils and other ingredients.
The CCP also noted that other countries, including the US, India and Australia, maintain the same standards, where the term “ice cream” can only be applied to dairy-based products.
The commission instructed the companies to stop their current marketing practices and remove advertisements presenting frozen desserts as ice cream.
It instructed them to provide clear disclosures about their products’ nature and ingredients, adding that failure to comply with the verdict within 30 days would result in additional fines.
Scoop of deceit: Pakistan’s competition watchdog freezes multinationals’ misleading ice cream ads
https://arab.news/5sa26
Scoop of deceit: Pakistan’s competition watchdog freezes multinationals’ misleading ice cream ads
- Manufacturers of “Walls” and “Omore” have been penalized for passing off ‘frozen desserts’ as ice cream
- The Competition Commission of Pakistan has imposed Rs75 million of fine on each of the two companies
Imran Khan’s party shutdown draws mixed response; government calls it ‘ineffective’
- Ex-PM Khan’s PTI party had called for a ‘shutter-down strike’ to protest Feb. 8, 2024 general election results
- While businesses reportedly remained closed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they continued as normal elsewhere
ISLAMABAD: A nationwide “shutter-down strike” called by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party drew a mixed response in Pakistan on Sunday, underscoring political polarization in the country two years after a controversial general election.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) opposition party had urged the masses to shut businesses across the country to protest alleged rigging on the second anniversary of the Feb. 8, 2024 general election.
Local media reported a majority of businesses remained closed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, governed by the PTI, while business continued as normal in other provinces as several trade associations distanced themselves from the strike call.
Arab News visited major markets in Islamabad’s G-6, G-9, I-8 and F-6 sectors, as well as commercial hubs in Rawalpindi, which largely remained operational on Sunday, a public holiday when shops, restaurants and malls typically remain open in Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s constitution says people will elect their representatives. But on 8th February 2024, people were barred from exercising their voting right freely,” Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri, the PTI opposition leader in the Senate, said at a protest march near Islamabad’s iconic Faisal Mosque.
Millions of Pakistanis voted for national and provincial candidates during the Feb. 8, 2024 election, which was marred by a nationwide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by the PTI and other opposition parties. The caretaker government at the time and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) both rejected the allegations.
Khan’s PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls. They won the most seats but fell short of the majority needed to form a government, which was made by a smattering of rival political parties led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The government insists the polling was conducted transparently and that Khan’s party was not denied a fair chance.
Authorities in the Pakistani capital deployed a heavy police contingent on the main road leading to the Faisal Mosque on Sunday. Despite police presence and the reported arrest of some PTI workers, Jafri led local PTI members and dozens of supporters who chanted slogans against the government at the march.
“We promise we will never forget 8th February,” Jafri said.
The PTI said its strike call was “successful” and shared videos on official social media accounts showing closed shops and markets in various parts of the country.
The government, however, dismissed the protest as “ineffective.”
“The public is fed up with protest politics and has strongly rejected PTI’s call,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X.
“It’s Sunday, yet there is still hustle and bustle.”
Ajmal Baloch, All Pakistan Traders Association president, said they neither support such protest calls, nor prevent individuals from closing shops based on personal political affiliation.
“It’s a call from a political party and we do not close businesses on calls of any political party,” Baloch told Arab News.
“We only give calls of strike on issues related to traders.”
Khan was ousted from power in April 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with the country’s powerful generals. The army denies it interferes in politics. Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal challenges that ruled him out of the Feb. 8 general elections and which he says are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from power.
In Jan. 2025, an accountability court convicted Khan and his wife in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust land corruption case, sentencing him to 14 years and her to seven years after finding that the trust was used to acquire land and funds in exchange for alleged favors. The couple denies any wrongdoing.
