Family-Owned Watkins Brings Lawsuit To Stop McCormick & Co. From Deceptive Marketing and Packaging of its Pepper

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Watkins Incorporated

Jun 09, 2015, 06:54 ET

WINONA, Minn., June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, family-owned Watkins Incorporated ("Watkins") filed a lawsuit in federal court in Minneapolis against McCormick & Company, Incorporated ("McCormick"), alleging that McCormick has been illegally "slack filling" (under-filling tins) its ground black pepper in tins in a manner that misleads retailers and consumers and is an illegal, deceptive marketing practice.

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Photo showing traditional McCormick Small Tins with 1.5-ounce slack-fill and with traditional 2-ounce fill along with Watkins tin with 2-ounce fill.
Photo showing traditional McCormick Small Tins with 1.5-ounce slack-fill and with traditional 2-ounce fill along with Watkins tin with 2-ounce fill.
Photo showing Watkins tin with 4-ounce fill along with traditional McCormick Medium Tins with traditional 4-ounce fill and 3-ounce slack-fill.
Photo showing Watkins tin with 4-ounce fill along with traditional McCormick Medium Tins with traditional 4-ounce fill and 3-ounce slack-fill.
The McCormick Large Tins with an 8-ounce fill (on the left) was marketed for decades. McCormick's use of the same McCormick Large Tin with a 6-ounce fill with nonfunctional slack-fill (in the middle) gives the false and misleading impression that there is more ground pepper in the tin than in the Watkins Tin (on the right) which also has six ounces of ground black pepper.
The McCormick Large Tins with an 8-ounce fill (on the left) was marketed for decades. McCormick's use of the same McCormick Large Tin with a 6-ounce fill with nonfunctional slack-fill (in the middle) gives the false and misleading impression that there is more ground pepper in the tin than in the Watkins Tin (on the right) which also has six ounces of ground black pepper.

The complaint alleges that McCormick, which is the largest seller of black pepper (in tins) in the United States (estimated to sell in excess of approximately 70% of all black pepper in tins) has for decades used standard-sized, non-transparent metal tins that are well known to retailers and consumers throughout the U.S. In early 2015, McCormick knowingly and intentionally began selling the same traditional sized tins they've used for decades with 25% less ground black pepper. The complaint alleges that this practice is illegal "slack-filling" that misleads consumers to believe they are purchasing the same amount of pepper that they had purchased in those same tins for decades and leads them to believe they are receiving more pepper than is actually in the tins.

Tin Size

McCormick Traditional Fill Tins (Used for Decades)

McCormick New Slack Fill Tins

Small

2 ounces

1.5 ounces

Medium

4 ounces

3 ounces

Large

8 ounces

6 ounces

The complaint alleges that McCormick's "slack-filling" violates federal and state laws.

The following are photos showing the McCormick traditional fill tins, the McCormick slack-filled tins, and Watkins tins.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150609/221984

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150609/221985

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150609/221986

"Integrity in the marketplace is fundamental," said Mark Jacobs, CEO of Watkins, "For nearly 150 years Watkins has built its reputation with consumers as a premium high quality products company with impeccable honesty and business ethics. As America's first consumer products company to offer a money-back satisfaction guarantee in 1868, we stand behind the quality and value of our products, and believe the consumer always deserves full transparency to determine value."

Watkins is a family-owned corporation with its headquarters and principal place of business in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in Plainview, Minnesota in 1868 by J.R. Watkins, for more than 147 years, Watkins has specialized in gourmet spices and extracts, and natural body and home care products. Watkins operates throughout the United States and internationally.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150610/222048LOGO 

CONTACT INFO:


Ann Herrmann 

Gail Fairchild

[email protected]

[email protected] 

Telephone no. 612-337-1812

Telephone no. 612-337-1881

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/family-owned-watkins-brings-lawsuit-to-stop-mccormick--co-from-deceptive-marketing-and-packaging-of-its-pepper-300096776.html

SOURCE Watkins Incorporated