ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Competition Commission of Pakistan Friday fined Mezan Beverages (Private) Limited Rs150 million for deceptive marketing over its “Storm” energy drink, saying the product copied the trade dress of PepsiCo’s “Sting.” The regulator said the look-alike packaging could mislead shoppers at the point of sale and violated Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010, Jan. 2, 2026.
The penalty closes a case that began in 2018, when PepsiCo filed a complaint alleging Storm was designed to benefit from Sting’s established market goodwill. A regulator summary carried by Associated Press of Pakistan said the commission treated the conduct as “parasitic copying,” a form of deception it says distorts competition and harms consumers.
What the CCP said Mezan Beverages copied from ‘Sting’
In its findings, the CCP said the Storm brand adopted a red-dominant color scheme, bold slanted white lettering and “aggressive visual motifs,” alongside a closely resembling bottle shape and overall presentation. The watchdog stressed that deception is judged by the net commercial impression a product creates, not by small differences picked out in side-by-side comparisons.
Business coverage by Business Recorder and The Express Tribune said the commission also rejected the argument that a registered “Storm” trademark insulated Mezan Beverages from competition-law enforcement if the packaging and presentation could still mislead ordinary buyers.
Trade dress is shorthand for the distinctive look and feel of packaging — colors, fonts, layout and container shape — that signals a product’s source to consumers. In its statement, the CCP said “copycat branding and misleading packaging will not be tolerated, regardless of the size or local status of the company.”
In an international dispatch, Arab News reported the Rs150 million penalty equals about $535,000 and described such outcomes as relatively uncommon in Pakistan, where prolonged court stays and jurisdictional challenges often delay regulatory enforcement.
Why Mezan Beverages’ ‘Storm’ case took years to conclude
Older reporting shows how long the dispute lingered before reaching a final order. In November 2023, Business Recorder reported the inquiry had been repeatedly stalled after the company sought interim relief in court while the regulator pursued its deceptive marketing case.
That same month, Profit by Pakistan Today detailed the back-and-forth between the parties and said the drawn-out process had fueled broader questions about how quickly competition cases can move when challenged in court.
The logjam began to ease in June 2024, when the Lahore High Court dismissed Mezan Beverages’ petition against the CCP’s show-cause notice, according to Mettis Global. With the court challenge rejected, the commission was able to proceed toward a final decision and the Rs150 million penalty now announced.
What to watch next
For Mezan Beverages and other fast-moving consumer brands, the ruling is a reminder that “look-alike” strategies can draw competition enforcement even when product names differ. For regulators, the decision serves as a rare, high-value example of a trade-dress dispute that moved from complaint to penalty despite years of litigation.
