Prosecco 1754: Wakefield company conned customers with 'skinny low-calorie' drink falsely advertised
A wine company duped customers into buying a line of Prosecco which they falsely advertised as being low calorie.
Wakefield-based Prosecco 1754 was found to have fermented a “skinny” version of the sparkling wine, but nutritionally, it was found to have little differences to the standard drink.
The company’s director, Marcus Hilton, appeared at Leeds Crown Court this afternoon where he admitted two counts of breaches of the Food Safety Act.
The 47-year-old, of Lancaster Avenue, Wakefield, and the company was ordered to pay out thousands of pounds in fines.
Prosecutor Ayman Khokhar said that the firm, which was registered in 2013 and based at Appleton Court in Durkar, later launched “Skinny” versions of their Prosecco and rosé wine to buy online but which were “likely to mislead”.
It was heard that before its launch, Hilton had contacted the Food Standards Agency (FSA) about its labelling for the Skinny line of drinks, outlining that it was meant to be a “lighter alternative”.
The company was told it was misleading, and did not comply with legislation, and they were advised to contact Trading Standards.
In May 2019, Trading Standards visited the company in Wakefield and took samples of the products.
Mr Khokhar said that for food or drink products to be classed as “low energy” - fewer calories - it must see a reduction of 30 per cent energy. But the Prosecco was found to be just 6.6 per cent lower.
Mitigating, Richard Holland said that Hilton had put in early guilty pleas, and said that it turned out to “not be a profitable venture”. The court also heard that the company will “cease to exist” by December this year.
Judge Tom Bayliss KC told Hilton: “Skinny Prosecco turned out to be not so skinny, and you knew it was not so skinny. You carried on selling it for quite some time.”