Muesli packaging misleading

The expectation of a product that advertisements cause vs reality. A hot topic for disappointed complaining consumers at the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC). After the too large soup balls swimming in a too thick soup from Unox and Mona’s Limoncello pudding without limoncello there is a complaint about Van Mooks’ muesli with raisins and hazelnuts.
 
The complaint concerns a (half see-through) packaging with an image of a bowl of muesli. The muesli is topped with seven hazelnuts, some almonds and a little green leaf. The words “serving suggestion” placed next to the bowl are difficult to read according to the complaining consumer. The fact that the green leaf can’t be found in the muesli isn’t a big surprise but this consumer finds the packaging misleading because the muesli only contains 1% of hazelnut chunks and no almonds whatsoever. The RCC doesn’t agree. It finds it is clear enough that the content of the bowl on the image doesn’t exactly match the actual content of the product.
 
According to the Board of Appeal (CvB) however, the packaging is misleading. The average consumer will understand that images on packaging show the product in its best condition, often exaggerated. But since nuts are a normal ingredient for muesli products the image creates the false expectation that the product contains almonds and quite a lot of hazelnuts. The additional information on the packaging such as the list of ingredients, the nearly illegible words “serving suggestion” and the partly see-through packaging can’t make up for this false expectation. Van Mook has to change the packaging of this product.
 
Fleur Jeukens