A shipment of Miller High Life beer was intercepted and destroyed in Antwerp, Belgium on its way to Germany. The reason: the use of its long-used slogan “The Champagne of Beers.” Under EU laws protecting geographical designations of origin, in order for a beverage to be called “champagne” it must be produced in the Champagne region of France. As such, Molson Coors Beverage Co., the producer of Miller High Life, does not ship the beer to the EU. It was likely that this shipment was procured by a private individual. However, the Belgian Customs Administration declined to identify the German buyer.
The Geographical Indication system is designed to protect the authenticity of certain artisanal products, and protect consumers from buying counterfeit imposters. A European Commission study estimates that the agri-food and drink products sold under this protection scheme are estimated to have an annual sales value of €75 billion, and that protected brands sell for an average of twice the price of similar, unprotected products.
Discussion Questions:
- Explain how geographic designation of origins protection allows firms to charge a higher price than their competitors.
- What are some other products that have this type of protection?
Sources| NPR: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/22/1171460421/miller-beer-champagne-cans-destroyed; European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_683; Photo by Elevate on Unsplash