Dabur and Marico, two of the country’s biggest FMCG companies, have come face to face in the honey packaging controversy. Domestic FMCG major Dabur has initiated contempt proceedings against Marico and its directors for allegedly failing to adhere to court’s orders and undertaking given by Marico to change its honey packaging, which Dabur claims were similar to its own.
Refuting the claims, a Marico spokesperson stated that the claims were frivolous attempts to hinder the launch of their new product Saffola Honey.
“In the past, too, Dabur has filed baseless cases in ASCI and other forums, and Marico’s stand has been vindicated in all forums,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that no court order has been breached and Marico has never given any undertaking.
“No undertaking has been given by Marico in the matter and the competition is falsely referring to its Saffola Homney packaging as an undertaking”
The matter had been listed to be heard on July 14, 2021.
The spat between the two leading homegrown rival brands began last year when Dabur filed a case against Marico alleging that Marico’s Saffola honey bottle was a rip off the former’s honey packaging and had copied its bottle shape, yellow cap, dome-shaped label, and honeycomb design.
Dabur says that it has been selling honey under the name Dabur Honey since 1965. It adopted the existing packaging of the product and the size of the bottle in the year 2013. During this, the company has continued with the trade dress and other key features as before.
The Court, in July 2020, passed an injunction in favor of Dabur stating that Marico’s packaging could confuse consumers even though the brand ‘Saffola’ is featured on the label.
“It is clarified that this interim injunction would not apply to the products already sold by the defendant in the market and the defendant will maintain the accounts thereof which will be submitted to this Court”, the order read.
In 2020, Dabur also filed a complaint in Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) against Marico alleging that their Saffola Honey sample from the market had failed the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test and that the company was misleading the consumers.
Dabur’s claim was refuted by Marico contending that “Saffola Honey is also compliant with each of the quality parameters mandated by FSSAI.”
Recently several new players have entered the growing domestic honey market after the pandemic as people are now focusing on wellness products post-pandemic.
According to Expert Market Research, India’s honey market reached a value of about Rs.1729 crore in 2019. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of about 10% between 2020 and 2025 to reach a value of nearly Rs.30.6 billion by 2025, it said.
