A brand, with years of consistency, trust and good quality stuff, gradually carves out a place for itself in the market. Over time, its name becomes its biggest asset and does all the work. But what happens when anonymous producers take that very name and sell their own products baffling the public under the guise of brand’s packaging? Something similar has been happening to the popular Davidoff coffee candies in India and a viral post has recently confirmed its duplicity and deception.
A social media user recently posted a candy cup of Davidoff coffee and claimed the product is not made by the original company. During one of his visits to a supermarket in Mumbai, social media user Ryan Rego grabbed a packaged Davidoff candy cup. But to him something seemed off with the candies. He turned the product and on reading through the contents of the candy, he noticed a few packaging red flags. He took a photo of the cup and posted it on social media, citing the irregularities.
His caption read, “I first spotted these candies at a supermarket in Mumbai, selling for ₹250 per 50g cup. The packaging raised several red flags: 1) Manufacturer listed as ‘AS PER BL’, 2) ‘Zino Davidoff’ misspelled as ‘Zino Devidoff’, 3) No visible Indian importer or FSSAI licence number.
And that was not all, Ryan took a step and raised a complaint informing the brand about these disparities. The brand reverted his messages informing that they had no hand in it, and it was done by a third party. The response read, “Thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, we have to inform you that the products you are referring to are unlicensed and are in violation of the DAVIDOFF trademark. Despite other claims made by the manufacturer on their packaging, they are unaffiliated with DAVIDOFF or DAVIDOFF CAFÉ.”
In the similar thread, Ryan added, “I spoke to multiple retailers in Mumbai.
One stopped stocking these candies after other retailers raised concerns about their authenticity. He also warned his distributor. Another claimed that genuine Davidoff coffee and these candies came from the same distributor.”
The post soon reached the right audience and people shared their own experiences. One of them wrote, “Coincidentally saw it yesterday in a Bengaluru supermarket and was tempted to buy. Thank you for sharing this information.” Another user added, “I Felt Scammed”, while a third user wrote, “Even I loved the packaging and was about to stock it up for Diwali Gifting,"
Upon doing a deep dive into the product’s quick sell out, Ryan also found out that people most importantly were buying the product because of its brand name. The candies have a comparatively higher price of INR 250 for a 50g cup and allegedly it doesn’t even taste that great. He explained “I tried the candy myself and frankly, it doesn’t even taste good”. Since consumers already associate Davidoff with premium coffee, the familiar branding could make even an ordinary coffee candy appear more appealing than it really is, he added.
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