Bulgarian Snack Food Company Fined Over Misleading TV Commercial

Bulgaria’s Commission for Unfair Competition has recently fined a Sofia-based snack food producer Intersnack Bulgaria EOOD, part of Intersnack Group, a major European supplier of snacks and nuts, and its advertising agency, Publicis AD, with EUR 125,869 (USD 173,579) and EUR 88,057 (USD 121,445) respectively, over a misleading television advertisement.

The television advertisement was found to be misleading because it created the impression and led consumers to believe that the advertised product is genuinely Bulgarian.

However, it was discovered that the nuts, with the exception of the sunflower seeds, were produced by a company in Bucharest, Romania, while the raw material came from various producers located in Argentina, China, Iran, Turkey, Mozambique and the United States.

The Commission ruled that the advertising campaign focuses entirely on the origin of the products and as such may affect the consumer purchasing behavior and cause damage to competitors.

For more information, please contact Milena Bogoslovova in our Bulgaria office.

Source: Bulgaria’s Commission for Unfair Competition