A US-based Hindu leader is calling on a brewery based in Sydney's northern beaches to change its labels for the second time.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, which is based in Nevada, says Brookvale Union's new Ginger Beer packaging still offends Hindus.
The brewery makes apple cider and ginger beer and uses the tagline “Quality Nonsense”, and in 2013, upon Zed's request, it redesigned the ginger beer labels which juxtaposed images of Hindu deities, Ganesh and Lakshmi. The design changes included changing the look of the elephant's head and removing the third eye.
Zed claims, however, that these changes don't go far enough, and as a result, Hindus are now thinking of approaching the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) over the labels, which he says still offend Hindus world wide.
He is calling on the brewery to “show some responsibility, respect and maturity and understand the hurt feelings of the Hindu community”.
Zed said that the Brewery's trivialisation of Hindu deities is disturbing to Hindus the world over. Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi are highly revered in Hinduism, he says, and they are meant to be "worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used in selling beer for mercantile greed".
Rajan Zed is urging Brookvale Union to remove the Ganesh-Lakshmi images from the beer label, packaging and website, to recall all the beer with Ganesh-Lakshmi images from the market, and to apologise for a second time.
Brookvale Union told Food & Drink Business that after approaching members of the hindu community, the company spent many months in consultation identifying what needed to be changed.
"Once a clear list was understood, we pulled product from shelves to redesign, print and label the ginger beer. We relaunched the ginger beer with new labels in 2014.
“As it stands we have made all changes asked and addressed all concerns. It was never our intention to cause offence and insult our Hindu friends which is why we went to great lengths to discuss the issues and find out what chances had to be made.”
