Chobani Told to Cut Out Rival Advertising on Danone

The ruling made by a federal judge in New York could prompt Danone to ask for damages after receiving the favourable ruling.

Chobani and Dannon have been involved in a battle for consumers in the US, after Chobani decided to compete on price against its European rival to woo customers to buy its yogurts.

 

"It's important to outline the difference between using only natural ingredients versus artificial ingredients so consumers can make more informed decisions" said Peter McGuinness, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, Chobani. “We're committed to continuing the conversation and it’s good to see big food companies like General Mills finally starting to remove artificial ingredients from some of their products, like their cereals and fruit snacks, and actively marketing and advertising their reformulations. In the end, if we can inform more consumers while helping other food companies make better food, everyone wins.”

 

Although the ruling is a setback for Chobani, the ruling does not mean that can’t point out in its ads that its yogurt is naturally sweetened, as opposed to using sucralose.

 

The court ruling follows a battle over an advertisement for Chobani’s 100 calorie product called Simply 100 Greek yogurt

 

In the ad, Chobani states that artificial sweetener sucralose, which is found in Danone’s Light & Fit Greek yoghurt in the US, is made with added chlorine.

 

Chobani argues that the addition of chlorine prevents the sweetener from being broken down.

 

Following the ruling, Chobani pointed out that it was still free to talk about the benefit of selecting natural ingredients in its advertising.

 

It said that it would continue to provide its customers with information on the benefits of natural, as opposed to artificial ingredients.

 

The judge also made a similar ruling prohibiting Chobani from running a similar ad campaign against Yoplait.

 

Chobani is one of the big three yogurt businesses in the US, along with Yoplait and Dannon.