Ferrero wins battle against Chinese counterfeiters
counterfeiters who have been producing copycat versions of its
products for the Asian market.
The case highlights the growing incidence of counterfeit product in Asia, especially China.
Tianjin High Court this week ordered Ferrero's Chinese rival, Montresor, to stop producing the counterfeit products immediately.
Montresor must also pay €80,000 in damages to the family owned business.
A Ferrero spokesperson told ConfectioneryNews.com that many of the company's products such as Raffaello and Kinder Bueno had suffered from copycat versions.
One of the more obvious examples was the Chinese manufacturer's version of the famous Ferrero Rocher brand.
"The product was exactly the same, it had the same confection, the same packaging and even the name sounded similar," the spokesperson said.
Ferrero hopes the court's decision will discourage other potential counterfeiters from mimicking products.
The company hailed the decision as good news for Ferrero and for other food manufacturers operating in China.
The court had initially ruled in favour of the domestic manufacturer when the case was heard for the first time last year but reversed the decision on appeal.
According to a report by Canada-based Gieschen Consultancy about $8.5m of counterfeited food and alcohol products were seized by law enforcement agencies worldwide during the first half of last year.
Ferrero's revenue for 2004 was €4.8 billion. Although the Chinese market currently accounts for a very small percentage of this figure, the Ferrero spokesman said the company sees it as a growth market.
