One of India’s most storied liquor brands is about to look a little different on shelf. The makers of Old Monk have agreed to change the product’s labelling after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) objected to it being sold plainly as “Rum”, arguing that the drink contains added flavouring substances.
The undertaking came during proceedings in the Bombay High Court, where manufacturer Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd said it was willing to carry descriptors such as “Added Flavour” or “Flavoured Rum” on the pack. The company also agreed to remove the “7 years old blended” claim from the label.
What the regulator argued
According to FSSAI’s affidavit, the label already lists artificial and nature-identical rum flavouring substances. The regulator’s position is that adding such substances changes the natural character and identity of the beverage, which could render it substandard under the applicable rules. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, citing the affidavit, submitted that calling such a product simply rum could also amount to a misleading representation for consumers.
FSSAI’s view is that rum’s characteristic flavour should come from the natural ingredients, fermentation and maturation involved in making the spirit. Where extra flavouring is used, it says the label must say “Flavoured Rum” or “Premix Rum”.
The age claim is the second front
The dispute goes beyond the word “rum”. FSSAI has also questioned descriptors including “7 years old blended” and “very old vatted”. Its argument: when an age statement is made for a blended alcoholic beverage, the age declared should reflect the youngest spirit in the blend, not the oldest. The regulator says the existing seven-year claim could mislead consumers and breaches Regulation 1.3.7 of the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018.
Senior counsel Navroz Seervai, for Mohan Rocky Springwater, told the court the company was prepared to make the required packaging changes, including dropping the seven-year claim.
Why no interim relief yet
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad declined to grant interim relief and adjourned the matter to September 11. The sticking point is timing: Additional Government Pleader Priyabhushan Kakade, for the State Excise Department, told the court that approving a completely new label usually takes about a month, while a modified label can take 15 to 45 days.
For a brand of Old Monk’s scale, that window matters — label approvals sit between the marketing calendar and actual distribution, and a pack change of this kind ripples through artwork, printing, excise clearance and retail stock.
Why it matters for marketers
This is a labelling case, but the lesson is a brand-communications one. Product identity claims — category name, age, provenance, “natural” cues — are increasingly treated as consumer-facing representations, not just technical compliance text. Any alcobev brand using flavouring or making maturation claims should read this as a signal of tightening scrutiny.
A quick checklist for teams working on regulated categories:
- Audit the descriptor: does the category word on the front of pack match how the product is actually made?
- Check age and maturation claims against the youngest-component rule for blends.
- Align ingredient declarations with front-of-pack storytelling — a flavouring listed in the fine print undercuts a “pure” claim on the face.
- Build approval lead time into launch plans: 15 to 45 days for a modified label is not a rounding error in a campaign timeline.
- Brief agencies and retail partners early so creative, e-commerce imagery and shelf assets don’t lag the approved pack.
Old Monk’s equity has been built over decades on nostalgia rather than technical claims, which is arguably its cushion here — the bottle silhouette and the brand’s cultural memory do most of the heavy lifting. But the case is a useful reminder that in regulated categories, the label is a marketing asset governed by someone else’s rulebook. The matter returns to court on September 11.
Source: MediaNews4U
