Is it cider if there’s no alcohol ? Or is it a false trade description?

By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law

AJ Halkes
September 2, 2025
6:43 pm

Words have common meanings: beer, wine (and cider) are defined and commonly known.

And for centuries, we have understood what beer or cider or wine is.

Now, if you look up cider, it is “an alcoholic drink made from fermented apple juice”

But apparently, to those who don’t use the English language (in North America?), it is “an unfermented drink made by crushing fruit, typically apples.”

So, in trade, what words are objectively deceptive depends on where you are. Common language in relation to products and their descriptions is being mangled in front of our eyes for business efficacy, and no one seems to care.

I’m not sure slapping a big 0% flag on a can of fizzy apple juice should entitle the maker to print “cider” on the can, no matter how close to it the content is.

When there’s no alcohol in it .. in my book it’s no longer beer, it’s not wine and it’s not cider … though Somersbys seem to disagree!

If you need specific input regarding a strategic Hong Kong challenge or related legal matters in the HKSAR, you can always DM me and check out my profile at https://www.ajhalkes.com

FoodAndBeverage BrandStrategy TradeDescriptions HKBusiness ProductLabeling ConsumerTrust BusinessEthics LegalMatters HongKongFNB MarketingStrategy

Is it cider if there’s no alcohol ? Or is it a false trade description?

By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law

Confidence in F&B is flooding back to Central and Wyndham Street is leading the charge.

The Boston Steakhouse in Wan Chai is a survivor!

The terror of AI is that it can sound absolutely certain while inventing something that never existed

Were Hong Kong’s dog friendly F&B guidelines written by dogs?

Home to the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong

Ride hailing, supply and demand, Uber and Hong Kong, something is still very wrong

Hong Kong is coming back as a concert stop as Kraftwerk just showed

What is an amazing .com domain name worth?

Construction is under way at Dragon-i that was part of our lives for years

The government has imposed standards on protective netting around occupied residential properties

When water is basically free and all F&B outlets have a filtration system – why charge?

Suffering long term COVID effects is very real for some businesses

Hire the right influencers, create the right buzz, and it seems you can now sell almost anything

So Hong Kong is lucky, here comes Luckin Coffee

Not near the mid-levels HK escalator, you’ll struggle running a business in HK (SoHo)

AJ Halkes appointed to the eBRAM Panel of Mediators in HK