They were last-year's must-have Christmas gifts - but now Marks & Spencer's snow globe gin liqueurs have come under fire for being too appealing to children. The upmarket grocer was so proud of its light-up bottles that it launched a legal claim against Aldi's festive gold flake gin, saying it was “strikingly similar” to its own gin range.
But alcohol industry watchdog Portman Group has upheld a complaint from a member of the public, who was concerned that the seasonal gin liqueurs had breached the rules on appealing to under -18s. And the The responsible alcohol regulator has upheld the complaint, ruling that the light-up snow globe bottle design on the M&S Spiced Sugar Plum and Clementine gins has “particular appeal to under-18s”.
The bottles were said to have breached two parts of the Portman Group’s Code of Practice – paragraph 3.1 (the alcoholic nature of a drink should be clear on the packaging) and paragraph 3.2(h), which says a drink, its packaging and any promotion should not appeal to under-18s in any way, according to the Grocery Gazette.
The complaint stated: “I believe the light-up bottles of gin and other drinks being sold and prominently displayed by Marks and Spencer are in breach of Portman’s rules regarding appeal to children. These alcoholic drinks are being sold as a novelty which is against the principle of the Portman rules and are encouraging children to see them as a fun item.”
In response, M&S said that it took its responsibilities for marketing and selling alcohol very seriously and complied fully with the Code. It also said the drinks’ names, colour, images, flavouring, gold/silver flakes and lighting had been designed to appeal to those over the age of 18. They specifically did not use any Christmas references which might have particular appeal to children, adding that “snow globes have mass appeal” and are not toys. The light-up feature was designed to “enhance the premium nature of the product” and was not “a novelty, toy, or something that should be used by children”, it added.
The Portman Group’s Independent Complaints Panel considered the overall impression of the product but concluded that the product had a particular appeal to under-18s and upholding the complaint under Code rule 3.2(h). The panel also upheld the complaint made under Code rule 3.1, as the ABV information was on a swing tag around the neck of the bottle which could be easily removed.
Marks & Spencer said it did not agree with the panel’s interpretation under the code, but said: "Given their view, we will work with the Portman Group to make some changes to our gin globes in future”.
The Light Up gin range previously made headlines when M&S launched a legal claim against Aldi, seeking a High Court injunction against alleged infringement of its design. It followed Caterpillargate earlier in the year when M&S alleged Aldi's Cuthbert cake copied its Colin the Caterpillar cake. The case was settled out of court in February this year.
Both retailers' gins came in a bell-shaped bottle with a light in the base, which illuminates edible gold flakes in the liquid. The Aldi gin was about £6 cheaper than the basic £20 M&S version.
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