The alcohol industry’s Independent Complaints Panel has upheld a complaint against Sainsbury’s Tiramisu Rum Liqueur. The complaint was made by Zenith Global Commercial Ltd, as part of the Portman Group’s independent proactive audit of the UK market[1]. Read the full decision here.
The complaint stated that the product had no clear alcohol labelling on the primary packaging and raised concerns that if the swing tag with the product’s alcohol information was removed, it further reduced transparency regarding the product’s alcoholic nature.
The Panel considered that if the swing tag was removed the overall impression conveyed was not one of any specific drink and therefore the drink’s packaging did have the capacity to mislead as to its alcoholic nature. The Panel discussed that it was not sufficient to include the only clearly presented, positive alcohol cues on a removable swing tag that was likely to be removed after purchase or could be accidentally removed even prior to purchase. The Panel noted that the mandatory information that had been embossed in gold lettering, on a gold-cork lid was not particularly distinguishable or visible. Therefore, the Panel concluded that the product did not communicate its alcoholic nature with absolute clarity and accordingly upheld the complaint under Code rule 3.1.
The producer has taken proactive steps to mitigate the risk of consumer confusion regarding the product’s alcoholic nature when selling through the remaining stock and will no longer be producing the drink in its current form.
Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel, Rachel Childs, said: “Ensuring all important information is clear, visible and not easily removed is vital to make sure the consumer is informed as to the alcoholic nature of a product. If there is any room for confusion or ambiguity then the Panel have little choice but to uphold a complaint, such as they did in this case.”
[1] Part of the independent proactive audit of the Naming and Packaging of Alcoholic Drinks Code, Sixth Edition Amended