Nestlé’s waters business sued by French rival Bonneval

Nestlé's h2o concern has been sued by a section French competitor, Bonneval Emergence for alleged "unfair competition".

Local work Le Monde connected Wednesday (17 December) reported it had learned Bonneval Emergence had filed a suit against the Perrier h2o shaper with the economical activities successful Nanterre.

The radical has besides asked the tribunal to intermission income of Nestlé's bottled h2o brands, including Vittel, Contrex and Perrier, and to callback bottles, with a €1m ($1.2m) punishment for each time of delay.

It has asked for €1.6bn successful damages to screen the alleged economical disadvantage it has experienced owed to the "unlawful" beingness of those Nestlé products successful France and different markets.

The radical has besides argued Nestlé's h2o products person benefited "unduly" from being capable to usage the "natural mineral waters" word for its products.

Bonneval Emergence, which does concern nether the sanction Bonneval Waters, declined to remark connected the contented but confirmed to Just Drinks it had filed the lawsuit, arsenic good arsenic the accuracy of the Le Monde report.

The group's portfolio is made up of packaged mineral h2o products, including its namesake brand, arsenic good arsenic Roche Claire and Joséphine.

Responding to the filing of the suit, a spokesperson for Nestlé's waters concern successful France said: “Nestlé Waters takes enactment of this summons, filed connected grounds that we judge are wholly unfounded. We volition vigorously support our position.

"In presumption of the ongoing procedure, we volition not remark further, nevertheless we would similar to reiterate that the nutrient information of our earthy mineral waters is and has ever been guaranteed, arsenic has been confirmed galore times by the authorities.”

Earlier this month, batches of Perrier bottled mineral waters were blocked from the marketplace by section authorities successful France pursuing a bacterial investigation of 1 of Nestlé’s wells successful Vergèze.

An investigative study from Radio France shared by Franceinfo past suggested 2 of the group’s mineral h2o wells had been unopen for a five-day play astatine the extremity of November aft caller bacterial contamination was recovered astatine its Vergèze tract successful the Gard department.

When questioned connected the taxable by Just Drinks, Nestlé’s h2o concern said: “As is mean successful these situations, immoderate pallets were blocked astatine our site.

“These volition stay astatine our tract until further announcement from the applicable authority”.

In mid-November, a French tribunal ruled Nestlé could proceed to marketplace its Perrier h2o products successful France utilizing the word “natural mineral water”.

The Nanterre judicial tribunal rejected a petition from French user rights radical UFC Que-Choisir to region Perrier h2o products from the market.