Jägermeister clamps down on fraudsters

A UK bar has been fined £16,000 after trading standards officers in Norfolk prosecuted the venue for passing off an imitation product as Jägermeister.

Despite attempts to blame staff, the owners of the bar in Norwich city centre were found guilty of contravening the Food Safety Act and engaging in misleading commercial practice by serving customers a different product to the one ordered.

The case was first launched in December 2011, with the successful prosecution based on the ability of distributor Cellar Trends and owner Mast-Jägermeister to trace lot numbers on the bottles to prove that the batch concerned was of standard strength.

Mast-Jägermeister not only has a UK trademark on the word “Jägermeister”, but also “Jägerbomb” and “J-Bomb”, which refer to the herb-based liqueur’s popular serve. This intellectual property also covers menus, promotional flyers, POS material and any notices advertising these products.

Commenting on the case, Martin Watts, managing director of Cellar Trends said: “Passing off and pouring over one product for another is a growing concern that not only impacts manufacturers, but also damages consumer confidence in the trade.

“We are actively working with all of the Trading Standards Offices throughout the country to help bring this issue to the attention of key stakeholders and highlight the dos and don’ts when it comes to keeping within the law.”

According to data to the end of 2012 from CGA Strategy, Jägermeister is the UK’s third largest spirit brand by volume and was ranked 11^th in the drinks business’ 2013 Power Brands List.

Meanwhile its 2012 global volume sales of 6.9 million nine-litre cases saw Jägermeister take 7^th place in db’s latest Top 10 Spirit Brands, ahead of the likes of Baileys and Jim Beam.