Diageo wins battle to sell mini Baileys in Germany
The madness of it all. Just because Diageo decided to sell its mini Baileys in an imperial measure bottle in Germany, it was taken to court by German distillers. Fortunately, the judges had some sense and awarded the world’s biggest spirits group the right to sell miniature bottles of Baileys across the European Union.
The case had pitted the owner of Baileys, drinks firm Diageo, against Germany’s distillers over the question whether it was legal for Diageo to market mini-bottles of Baileys measuring an eighth of a pint (0.071 litres) in Germany.
The eighth-of-a-pint measure is legal in Britain and Ireland, where all EU attempts to convince the locals to convert to the metric system have met with failure. However, the pint measure had not hitherto been recognised in Germany.
In October 2004, Diageo began marketing its "Baileys minis" in Germany, with the volume of 0.071 litres marked on the label.
The association of distillers which monitors the enforcement of laws covering the sale of spirits in Germany, challenged the move, saying that it could confuse consumers.
But the European Court, asked for its opinion by the Wiesbaden district court in Germany, ruled that "such a risk may be considered to be excluded, taking as the reference point the average consumer, reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect."
It decided that a ban on the sale of Baileys minis in Germany would breach EU rules on the free movement of goods.
In the financial year 2005/2006, Diageo Germany saw its volume sales increase 3 percent and its turnover 8 percent. It sold 33 million 07.l bottles and achieved sales of EUR 101 million. The main drivers of growth were the Irish cream liqueur Baileys (+3% in volume), Smirnoff Vodka No.21 (+15%) and the Johnnie Walker labels (+7%).
