There is more Scotch Whisky sold in the world than what is brewed in Scotland, goes a saying. After all, imitation is the best form of flattery.
After the world got to know a fake-Starbucks cafe operated in Baghdad in Iraq, a fake-Apple store that operated in the boomtown city of Shenzen in China, we have our own Indian version of a fake-firm producing soaps.
It is quite common in the FMCG industry to discover fakes being sold sporadically in smaller towns, where gullible consumers mistake for a spell-error, all things being the same as the original, such as the brand colours, font type and size, etc.
What has come as a big surprise is that the much renowned “Mysore Sandal Soap”, a prestigious Indian product with a 117-year legacy, has been counterfeited in the country.
A company in Hyderabad has been manufacturing these soaps in a factory which has gone unnoticed for several years.
An anonymous call was made to MB Patil, a Minister in the cabinet of Karnataka Legislative assembly who is also the President of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) about a factory producing fake soaps with the same brand name.
KSDL staff undertook a covert operation by placing a huge order to the tune of INR 25 lakhs ahead of the Sankranthi festival.
When the truck reached the factory to receive the produce, they discovered a full fledged factory producing soaps in the same name and style as its flagship product “Mysore Sandal Soap”.
The perpetrators behind this fake operation have been identified as Mahaveer Jain and Rakesh Jain from the state of Telangana.
20 carton boxes with 1,800 pieces of soaps, each weighing 150 gms, 47 boxes with 9,400 pieces of soaps, each weighing 75 gms and 400 empty carton boxes of both the denominations were seized.
The fake-products manufacturing company is said to have made a turnover of over INR 100 Cr over the years. Investigation is underway, police have informed.
Mysore Sandalwood Oil Factory was started at Mysore in 1916 followed by the launch of Mysore Sandal Soap in 1918 by the then Maharaja of Mysore. The company has a turnover of over INR 700 Cr.