The Balocco-Ferragni pandoro and the "incorrect charity practices": the accusation by the Antitrust
An investigation has been opened on the Fossano company to shed light on the campaign, with the famous influencer, in favor of the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin
Beacon of the Antitrust on the confectionary company Balocco which at the end of last year had launched a sales campaign of Chiara Ferragni designer pandoro: the guarantor authority has in fact decided to go and verify if behind that campaign passed off as a charity initiative there an unfair commercial practice was actually concealed .
In particular, the Antitrust Authority has launched an investigation against Balocco Industria Dolciaria to investigate the "Chiara Ferragni and Balocco together for the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin" campaign, promoted between November and December 2022 . Initiative during which Balocco put Ferragni's limited edition pandoro on sale to support research on osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma in favor of the Turin hospital. But according to the Authority, both in the press releases and on the pandoro packaging, the way in which the initiative was presented could mislead consumers by leveraging their sensitivity to charitable initiatives with a social background. In short, whoever bought it could have been led to believe that buying the Ferragni "branded" pandoro contributed to the donation for the purchase of a new machine, while Balocco had already made a fixed-cost donation to the hospital several months earlier of the advertising launch of the initiative , and therefore completely independently of the sales trend of the product.
The reaction of Codacons was immediate, recalling among other things that it was the driving force behind reporting the controversial commercial initiative to the guarantor authority.
"Now - warns the consumer defense association - if the Antitrust confirms the unfair commercial practice, we will start a legal action against Balocco and Chiara Ferragni, asking the two subjects to reimburse the cost of the pandoro to all consumers who have joined the solidarity initiative ». «This Christmas Balocco and I thought of a charity project in favor of the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin», Chiara Ferragni wrote on Instagram on the occasion of the launch of the initiative. «We have created a limited edition pandoro and together we support a research project for new therapeutic treatments for children suffering from Osteosarcoma and Ewing's Sarcoma. I am really proud of this initiative and of making our Christmas a little pinker and sweeter with this special pandoro », added the influencer.
(Unioneonline/vl)
