AB-InBev wins corn syrup war against Molson Coors
USA | If only Molson Coors had heeded the old adage: A lawsuit is a machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage. Because on 1 May 2020 a federal appeals court struck down a ruling by a lower court, which had been in its favour.
Media report that the 7th US Court of Appeals overturned a federal judge’s ruling from September 2019 in Wisconsin. The judge had ordered AB-InBev, which brews Bud Light, to stop making the corn syrup claims about Miller Lite and other Molson Coors products.
Now, the Court of Appeals determined that AB-InBev can advertise and use packaging which imply that its rival’s beers contain corn syrup.
The original lawsuit had been filed by Molson Coors in March 2019, after AB-InBev had ridiculed Molson Coors in a Superbowl commercial for adding corn syrup to its Miller Lite beer, probably banking on consumers’ fears about high-fructose corn syrup and weight gain.
Gobsmacked
“If Molson Coors does not like the sneering tone of Anheuser-Busch’s ads, it can mock Bud Light in return,” the Court of Appeals ruled. “Litigation should not be a substitute for competition in the market.”
After the Superbowl commercial, AB-InBev had printed “No Corn Syrup” in bold letters on cardboard packaging of Bud Light six-packs, 12-packs and 24-packs. It invited customers to visit a website where it lists its ingredients. Bud Light is brewed with water, barley, rice and hops.
Although Molson Coors uses corn syrup to brew Miller Lite and Coors Lite, fermentation gets rid of all the corn syrup, so there is none left in the final product. Molson Coors argued that AB-InBev’s campaign is therefore false, illegal and bad for the industry.
The appeals court said it was up to consumers to decide what is best. The lawsuit will have left Molson Coors with a hefty lawyers’ bill.
Incidentally, it was pointed out that AB-InBev brews some of its beers – including Natural Light, Busch Light and Rolling Rock – with corn syrup. Molson Coors brews many of its beers without corn syrup, including Blue Moon Belgian White and Pilsner Urquell.
