Delhi HC stops disparaging advertisements against 'oats'

The court passed the direction against Alpino Health Foods Private Limited on a lawsuit filed by Marico Limited, which sells oats under the mark "Saffola Oats", with a market share of around 45% by value.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has restrained a health foods brand from publishing any advertisement disparaging oats as a category of food.

The court passed the direction against Alpino Health Foods Private Limited on a lawsuit filed by Marico Limited, which sells oats under the mark "Saffola Oats", with a market share of around 45 per cent by value.

Plaintiff Marico has alleged that in a "brazen and bizarre" advertising campaign, the defendant has called consumption of oats for breakfast a scam and compared it to "choona" (lime powder), which is disparaging and denigrating.

While granting the interim relief, Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that the plaintiff had a prima facie case for the grant of injunction, else it would suffer an irreparable loss.

"Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, defendant, its directors ... are restrained from publishing or otherwise sharing, forwarding, howsoever, communicating to the public, either through social media platforms, inter alia Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc., or in any other manner, the impugned advertisements or any part thereof, or any other advertisement or communication of a similar nature, in any language or in any manner, disparaging 'oats' as a category of foods," the judge said in the ex-parte order.

The court also issued a summons to the defendant on the lawsuit that has claimed that any campaign against oats as a food product has a direct impact on its business under the "Saffola" brand.

The plaintiff has said the defendant's product is a breakfast cereal containing 61 per cent rolled oats along with other ingredients, which is sought to be marketed as superior to regular oats and a false impression is being created that the defendant is selling some "super oats".

It has also objected to the alleged misrepresentation of the nutritional value of oats as well as the use of derogatory language and comparison.