Manufacturer Jägermeister filed two lawsuits against the Kaluga distillery

The German company Mast-Jägermeister SE, the manufacturer of Jägermeister herbal liqueur, has filed two lawsuits against Kaluga Distillery Kristall LLC. This follows from the filing cabinet of the Moscow Arbitration Court.

One claim by a German company concerns the protection of exclusive rights. It refers to the recovery of 314.8 million rubles. compensation. The second defendant is Alfa-M LLC, a legal entity of the Krasnoe and Beloe retail chain.

In another lawsuit, the second defendant is Retail Winestyle LLC, a chain of WineStyle stores. This statement by Mast-Jägermeister SE refers to one property and two non-property claims, the amount of which may also be 315 million rubles.

In more detail, the essence of the requirements of the German company in the documents of the court is not disclosed. Both claims were left without action until June 26, as the state duty was not paid.

Jägermeister suspended deliveries of products to Russia at the beginning of November 2022. At the same time, back in September, the Ministry of Industry and Trade included liquor in the list of permitted goods for parallel imports. A few days after Jägermeister’s statement, the Kaluga plant began supplying domestic Alter Heiler and Konig Heiler bitters to retail chains. Kristall clarified that the plant began developing its own recipe back in 2019. The press service also noted that Russian-made liquor could displace the segment leader, Jägermeister products.

After that, at the end of last year, the Kaluga plant complained to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) about the actions of the German company. According to representatives of the Russian company, “a foreign group is putting pressure on the manufacturer and retailers, trying to prohibit Kristall from producing its own bitters in Russia, and wholesalers and retail chains from selling these products.” Letters from Mast-Jägermeister demanding that such products be withdrawn from circulation were received by the Red and White and Chizhik chains (part of X5 group).

The representative of Mast-Jägermeister, in turn, drew attention to the similarity of the label and the shape of the bottles of Alter Heiler and Konig Heiler bitters from Kristall with the products of the German manufacturer. He said that the company considers exploiting the reputation of other brands and misleading consumers as unfair business practices.

At the beginning of April it became known that the Federal Antimonopoly Service recognized the German company Mast-Jägermeister as a violator of the Law on Protection of Competition. The department’s document stated that Jägermeister should not have called Kristall’s products counterfeit. The service drew attention to the fact that there is no judicial act establishing the counterfeit goods in this case. On this basis, the FAS issued a warning to Mast-Jägermeister.