When it comes to commonplace things, it’s easy to lose sight of the finer points in a world where options seem to be unlimited. The conflict between the spice business heavyweight McCormick & Co. and the relative upstart Watkins Inc. is one such situation that has lately gained attention. Disagreement arose over the dimensions of their ground pepper containers.
An Incurable Pepper Tin Scandal
A well-known spice brand, McCormick, has been accused of drastically cutting the amount of pepper in its tins—a reduction of an astounding 25%. As an example, their tins used to carry about 8 ounces of pepper, but today they only held around 6 ounces. Watkins Inc. has sounded the alarm, claiming that McCormick used a deceptive marketing strategy to fool consumers into thinking they are buying more pepper per can than they really are.
The disparity in the advertising approaches used by the two firms has been highlighted by this case. When it comes to pepper, McCormick uses opaque containers that hide the amount, whereas Watkins uses smaller containers that hold the same amount. According to Watkins, McCormick is in breach of consumer protection rules due to its misleading tactics.
