Delhi High Court Restrains 'Indian Zeera' Maker From Imitating Archian Foods' 'Lahori Zeera' Packaging

On 8 October, the Delhi High Court temporarily restrained Goldenstuff and Beverages Private Limited and others from selling soft drinks in packaging that imitates Archian Foods Private Limited's “Lahori Zeera” range.

Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the ad interim order after finding that the defendants' labels, colour scheme and bottle shape could cause confusion and deception among consumers.

The Bench held that “the adoption of identical or deceptively similar logo/trade dress/colour scheme/shape of the bottle is ex facie mala fide,” and noted that the defendants were “new entrants in the trade whereas the plaintiff is already an established player”.

Archian Foods launched Lahori Zeera in 2015. The drink features a green, yellow and white label with the taglines “DESI HI CHANGA” and “APNA DESI THANDA”. It sued Goldenstuff and Beverages Private Limited and five others, alleging that they manufacture and sell carbonated soft drinks under the names “Indian Zeera”, “Indian Nimboo”, “Indian Mojito” and “Indian Shikanji”.

It alleged that the defendants copied its label colours, stylised lettering, tagline placement and multicoloured border. It also pointed to the placement of lemons and cumin on either side of the product name, a similar bottle shape and green cap, and similarities in website branding and social media advertisements.

The defendants' LinkedIn page indicates that they began operations in January 2026. They have also applied to register “INDIAN ZEERA” in Class 32.

The Court found that Archian's trademarks, copyrights and designs were prima facie registered and that the company had established goodwill through extensive use, advertising and turnover.

Until the next hearing, it restrained the defendants and anyone acting on their behalf from manufacturing, selling, advertising or exporting soft drinks and related beverages under the disputed logos, labels, trade dress or packaging.

The injunction also covers identical or deceptively similar logos, taglines and domain names, Archian's “LAHORI” marks, the taglines “APNA DESI THANDA” and “HAR KOI PEERA LAHORI ZEERA”, the domain name LAHORIZEERA.COM and Archian's registered bottle design.

However, the Bench deferred its decision on Archian's request to restrain the defendants from using the word “Indian” in their mark until the parties complete their pleadings.

Accordingly, the High Court granted interim protection to Archian Foods against the allegedly imitative packaging and branding, while deferring the issue concerning the word “Indian”.

The suit will next come before the Joint Registrar on 4 December 2026 and the Court on 3 February 2027.