Mars International India Private Limited - Pedigree

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: Industry Member

The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim, to the advertiser with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claim in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claim with supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and submitted their response. The advertiser stated that Pedigree holds the top position as the leading dog food brand across numerous global markets, based on independent market research conducted regularly by Nielsen IQ. The advertiser maintains that this evidence supports the statement of being the number one dog food brand worldwide. As claim support data, the advertiser provided multiple years of certification documents issued by Nielsen IQ, as proof of Pedigree’s ranking. The advertiser’s response along with the claim support data was referred to an Independent technical expert of ASCI for an opinion in the matter. The expert’s opinion was then shared with the complainant and the advertiser for making additional submissions. The complainant did not respond to the expert’s opinion. The advertiser had a meeting with the ASCI Secretariat and the technical expert via zoom video conference to discuss their submissions. Post this meeting, the advertiser addressed the queries raised in the expert’s opinion. The advertiser stated that the claim is valid and supported by credible data. They rely primarily on Nielsen IQ’s retail sales data which specifically covers pet dog populations relevant to dog food sales. The latest certificate confirms Pedigree’s top position by value share. To further support the claim, they have submitted Euromonitor data covering a wide range of countries worldwide to confirm Pedigree’s global leadership in brand sales value. The advertiser further submitted the following documents – Nielsen IQ’s certificate confirming market leadership, Euromonitor’s global pet care report, Nielsen IQ’s data collection and channel coverage details, Euromonitor’s retail channel analysis, Country wise brand level data and population estimates used in Euromonitor’s modelling. The additional submissions made by the advertiser were sent to the technical expert for final opinion. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the amazon advertisement and the product packaging, considered the complaint, the advertiser’s response along with the claim support data, and the expert’s final opinion presented at the meeting. The CCC observed that the advertiser’s claim made of Pedigree being the “No. 1 Dog Food Brand in the World*”, is qualified via disclaimer which mentions the source as, “Mars calculation based in part on data reported by Neilsen IQ through its retail management service for the dog food segment of the pet food category for total defined global market (21 markets) for the 12 consecutive month period ending December 2022..” The CCC observed that the data submitted in support of the claim was sourced from NielsenIQ and covered a wide range of countries. However, it omitted several major markets with significant pet dog populations, including China, India, Japan, and Russia. Additionally, the study had limited coverage of distribution channels, particularly in the e-commerce segment, which is a significant contributor to sales in many countries. Due to these geographic and channel related limitations, the evidence was deemed insufficient to substantiate the advertiser’s claim of global leadership. The CCC further observed that the advertiser has submitted additional data from Euromonitor, a well known market research provider. This new data included the previously excluded countries and provided a broader and more complete view of the global market. The Euromonitor report confirmed that the key countries with large dog populations were included and indicated that the advertiser’s brand holds the leading position in these markets as well. The advertiser has clarified that the majority of sales are generated through offline retail channels, which were covered in the NielsenIQ data. Considering the brand’s significant market lead over competitors, it was concluded that the inclusion of e-commerce sales would not impact its overall global ranking. After a detailed re-evaluation of all the submitted data, including the Euromonitor findings and clarifications provided by the advertiser, both sources consistently indicate that the brand holds the number one position globally. Based on this assessment, the CCC concluded that although the product packaging claim, and the claim in the advertisement, “No. 1 Dog Food Brand in the World”, is substantiated, referencing an outdated and incorrect source to support the claim is misleading. Hence, the said claim contravened Chapter I, Clause 1.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD