World: Tequila Regulatory Council in two legal proceedings against Heineken for using tequila’s name in beer

Using the word tequila in a drink is serious business. The Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) defends that word because it is a Mexican drink with a designation of origin. In other words, tequila is only discussed when the drink is produced in certain municipalities in Mexico and with special parameters. But Heineken uses that name in Europe, on a beer, Market Research Telecast reported on March 13.

This issue has confronted the tequila organization and the Dutch brewery for several years. But in 2019, the European Commission (EC) granted tequila recognition as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Thus, it became the first product in Mexico to access the maximum protection model in Europe, as shared by the CRT in writing.

However, Heineken misuses the word tequila in a beer. In it, use only the “smell” of the Mexican drink. The CRT detailed to Business Insider Mexico that it has two legal proceedings against the brewery. These began in 2017 and are currently ongoing in the courts of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Nanterre, France.

In addition, on March 18 the representatives of the CRT in Europe will have a hearing in Amsterdam on the case. Business Insider Mexico sought out the company for details about the legal dispute. As of press time, he offered no comment.

The tequila industry represented at least a production of 352 million liters in 2019 alone. In the last two decades, production increased 94% and the United States is its main export destination. It is followed by Germany, Spain and France, according to data from Statista.

Despite the multiple regulations surrounding tequila, such as its alcoholic content, origin, production process and places of origin, Heineken uses the name without permission and without complying with the characteristics of the drink.

It was at the beginning of 2020 when the CRT received “evidence that reliably demonstrated the adulteration of tequila.” In such a way that it was unable to issue the certificates of authenticity for the export of the drink to the producing company – which supplied a subsidiary of Heineken -, simulating packaged exports of origin for the final consumer, according to the agency.

Then, in mid-2020, the Dutch brewer – through the Association of Brewers of Europe – denounced Mexico for “technical barriers to trade.” But various associations of the spirits sector and international organizations and institutions presented 40 letters to the European Commission to support the CRT and tequila.

The Mexican body warns that with this conflict, if the brewery is favored, “it opens the doors so that any other protected product can be violated and become a generic.”

14 March, 2021