The legal battle between Heinz India and GlaxoSmithkline Beecham Healthcare (GSK) over advertising claims of their respective brands Horlicks and Complan has taken a new turn. Dismissing, GSKs suit the Delhi High Court directed GSK to file a fresh suit before the Bombay High Court.
The suit in the Delhi High Court had been filed by GSK in response to advertisements by released by Heinz in December last year. GSK had alleged that the advertisements of Complan were disparaging their brand Horlicks by calling it 'cheap', which it said implied that the brand was of inferior quality.
According to Anuradha Salhotra, Partner at the law firm Lall Lahiri & Salhotra, which is representing Heinz India: "The Court felt that one forum should decide the question of both the advertisements. Since the earlier case against GSK advertisement is pending in the Bombay High Court, it was felt that Bombay is the appropriate forum to adjudicate on Heinz commercial also."
GSK had moved the Delhi High Court after Heinz had filed a case in the Bombay High Court against the former, challenging the claims made by Horlicks in its ads. Heinz had objected to GSK filing a case in the Delhi High Court, arguing that it was an inappropriate forum.
The health food drinks market is growing at 20% and is estimated at about Rs 1,800-crore as per AC Nielsen data. Horlicks leads the category with a dominant market share.
Heinz had first objected to advertisements for Horlicks showing both brands in direct comparison. The ads highlighted the nutritional content and price gap between the two rival brands, and showed Horlicks as a better and more inexpensive health drink. Heinz had said that the ads were impacting its sales and approached the Bombay High Court.
Both companies have backed their claims by scientific research data. While Heinz released a study by Department of Food Science and Nutrition at Avinashilingam University in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, GSK's 'taller, sharper and stronger' claim is backed by scientific data from the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), a government body under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.