ISLAMABAD – Prema Milk, one of famous local milk brands in Pakistan, landed in trouble for allegedly misleading public on dairy safety, as Competition Appellate Tribunal confirms deceptive marketing tactics.
Competition Appellate Tribunal confirmed that At-Tahur (Pvt.) Ltd., the parent company of dairy brand engaged in deceptive marketing practices and misled the public and maligned competitors in a controversial ad campaign.
It all started after a complaint by Pakistan Dairy Association (PDA), which accused Prema of spreading false and damaging claims across social media—especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling on milk safety. Prema’s campaign implied that all other dairy brands were unsafe, promoting itself as the sole provider of “pure” milk.
Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) conducted detailed probe and concluded that Prema violated multiple provisions of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010. The commission originally slapped a Rs. 35 million fine on Prema and demanded a public apology for its misleading campaign.
CAT now backed the Competition Commission, noting that the local brand made moves which were capable of denting business interests of competitors but fine has been reduced to Rs50Lac.
The fresh verdict sends strong signal as deceptive marketing won’t go unpunished. Dairy industry said this is a wake-up call for all brands, who are misleading masses.
Last year, Competition Commission fined Walls and Omore total of Rs75 million for misleading advertising, after complaint by Hico Ice Cream. Investigations revealed that both brands violated food labeling standards and falsely marketed their products.
Unilever Pakistan, which markets Walls, received an additional Rs20 million fine for claiming its frozen desserts were healthier than dairy ice cream. The companies have been ordered to remove all deceptive ads and ensure accurate product labeling.
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