Fairy floss and bubblegum: North East brewery accused of marketing to kids

The Beechworth drinks manufacturer has been accused of marketing to children 30 times in the past year.

The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) scheme has upheld 10 complaints against Billson's and dismissed 20 since November 2022.

On November 28, ABAC said "27 packaging designs have been assessed with the panel finding nine designs in breach of the code by having strong or evident appeal to minors".

ABAC has upheld two of three complaints against Billson's social media marketing.

The brewery told The Border Mail its products were "clearly aimed at adults".

Cancer Council Victoria's alcohol programs manager, Alison McAleese, labelled Billson's a repeat offender in marketing to minors.

"It's unusual to see so many complaints over a short period of time on the same issue," she said.

"All of the complaints have talked about the names of the products appealing to children because some of the ones upheld earlier this year were fruit tangle, fairy floss and grape bubble gum.

"Also, once one flavour has been found to breach the code, it seems to be replaced with a new flavour, which in some cases has also been found to breach the code."

Billson's Lamington Vodka drink is the latest to breach the advertising code.

Other vodka products that have breached the code include:

"On social media, they really emphasise the confectionery nature of (the product)," Ms McAleese said.

"So that shows that it's a product that is meant to be a lolly flavour, and it would be attractive to young people."

Billson's owner Nathan Cowan said "we believe our products are clearly aimed at adults".

"It's triple distilled vodka and shows the alcohol percentage really large on the label," he said.

"And we have age gates on our website and social media.

"We're working closely with ABAC and we get all of our products pre-vetted with ABAC, and before any launch, we make sure they are pre-vetted and aligned with the code."

However, regarding the Lamington and Tangle Vodka products, the regulator said Billson's changed the design after the pre-approval process.

"(Billson's) did obtain approval for two designs but the packaging actually taken to market for both products varies to the material submitted and assessed at pre-vetting," ABAC said in its recent decision.

"In particular, the Lamington product packaging assessed at pre-vetting is notably different from the final design used by the company in the images of individual lamingtons shown on the can."

Mr Cowan admitted to the alteration.

"On our lamington product, it was pre-vetted and pre-approved, and then we slightly tweaked the illustration at the last minute, and that was really just a process error," he said.

"We didn't believe it changed the appeal or the direction of the flavour, but we agree to and understand the ruling."

Ms McAleese explained that because Billson's was not a signatory to the scheme, there were no penalties for breaching the code.

"The ABAC scheme is not working," she said.

"You've got a situation where the alcohol industry is in charge of looking at the advertising and marketing.

"So they don't have any sanctions, there's no financial penalties, and it's obviously not acting as a deterrent."

Signatories to the scheme include Coles Group, Endeavour Group, Asahi Breweries and Lion Corporate.

When these companies breach the code, as was seen recently with Asahi Breweries' Hard Solo, they are forced to stop producing the product.

"But in terms of companies that aren't signatories to the code, they're not obliged to make the changes, and there's no sanctions for them," Ms McAleese said.

"There's nothing to deter them from putting out a new product that would breach the code in the same way.

"We need stronger regulation that acts as a deterrent from alcohol companies doing marketing that makes their products attractive to young people."

ABAC disagreed, saying if the company doesn't "voluntarily" rebrand its product, they "refer non-compliant breaches to Liquor Licensing who have the power to compel compliance and investigate licensees".

"There are sanctions every time a breach determination is made, namely the significant cost of rebranding, loss of marketing expenditure and adverse publicity," the regulator said.

"If a company fails to voluntarily remedy a breach, ABAC refers those complaints and breach determinations to the relevant state liquor authority that has the power to compel licensees to remedy breaches of their promotional guidelines and impose financial penalties."