News24 | Dis-Chem pulls CeraVe copycats from shelves

L’Oreal argued that the Dermacare packaging intentionally exploited the advertising goodwill the well-known French brand had grown in the South African market since its local introduction in 2022.

• Dis-Chem has pulled Nutriwomen’s Dermacare line from its shelves after a year-long dispute at the Advertising Regulatory Board over alleged copycat packaging.
• L’Oréal South Africa alleged that Dermacare copied the branding of its CeraVe skincare line, and the Advertising Regulatory Board found in its favour.
• Nutriwomen argues it isn’t bound by the ARB’s authority. Despite appeals, the ARB upheld its ruling.
• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.

Dis-Chem has pulled Nutriwomen’s Dermacare skincare line from its shelves after a year-long dispute over alleged copycat branding.

The dispute began in May last year with L’Oréal South Africa alleging Dermacare copied the branding of its CeraVe skincare line, citing similarities in font, colour, design, and product information layout.

In the original complaint to the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB), L’Oreal argued that the Dermacare packaging intentionally exploited the advertising goodwill that the well-known French brand had grown in the South African market since its local introduction in 2022.

The ARB had ruled in favour of L’Oréal South Africa, giving Nutriwomen three months to revise its Dermacare packaging.

While Nutriwomen argued it wasn’t subject to the ARB’s jurisdiction as a non-member, it engaged in the proceedings and appealed the decision in October 2024.

READ | L’Oreal SA claims rival copied its packaging — and watchdog agrees

The ARB ordered Nutriwomen again to either amend its packaging design or remove the product line from retailers’ shelves by 16 January 2025. It further instructed ARB members not to advertise Dermacare products until the designs had been amended.

Photographic evidence submitted to the ARB in May appeared to show that Nutriwomen had not amended the packaging design.

It also showed that Dis-Chem had continued to sell the products in their infringing packaging at its outlets and online platforms long after the January 2025 deadline.

L’Oréal provided the Advertising Appeal Committee (AAC) with photos taken between April and May that show Dermacare products in Dis-Chem stores in Sandton City and Mall of Africa.

READ | Another win for L’Oreal SA in copycat claim

“Dis-Chem first received a notification from L’Oreal on this matter on 20 January 2025 and notified all stores nationally to remove the affected Dermacare products from shelves, with a similar directive given to its online store,” a spokesperson told News24, explaining that it had received a similar directive from the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association of South Africa (CTFA) in March.

Dis-Chem is a member of the CTFA, which, in turn, is a member of the ARB.

Dis-Chem said it had not received any other prior communication from the ARB or CTFA in this regard, and that it “has always abided by industry body regulations and rulings”.

Dis-Chem’s online store still had some Dermacare products listed around noon on Monday.

“While the Dis-Chem website continued to show product visibility, this was an operational oversight that has subsequently been remedied,” Dis-Chem told News24 on Monday afternoon. 

Jurisdiction

In its response to the most recent complaint, Nutriwomen argued that it was not bound by the ARB’s rulings as it is not a member of the board, nor was it a member of the CTFA anymore. It had been bound by the previous rulings of the ARB by virtue of its indirect membership through its membership of the CTFA.

The ARB took note that Nutriwomen did not renew its membership to the CTFA for 2025 after its unsuccessful argument that the matter does not fall within the purview of the ARB.

CeraVe stated in its most recent submission that it considered Nutriwomen’s arguments against the ARB’s jurisdiction to be “misleading and made in bad faith”.

The Advertising Appeal Committee (AAC) confirmed that Nutriwomen was in breach of its obligations, rejecting its jurisdictional objection. The AAC also concluded that Dis-Chem, as an ARB member through the CTFA, was responsible for ensuring compliance with its directives.

L’Oréal requested the following sanctions on Nutriwomen: immediate compliance with the ruling, pre-publication review of all future advertising, publication of a summary ruling at Nutriwomen’s cost, and possible public listing as a defaulter.

The ARB granted two of the four requests and ordered that Dermacare products be pulled from retailers and that Nutriwomen submit proposals for amended designs with the original advertisement and the ARB’s previous ruling, together with the most recent ruling to the Association for Communication and Advertising’s (ACA) Advisory Service for pre-publication advice at its own cost.

It noted that while Nutriwomen can be held to previous rulings, the enforcement of the ARB’s most recent ruling is complicated by it no longer being a member of CTFA.

• This headline on this article has been amended to correct that it was not CeraVe that has been removed but Dermacare.