Torti Wine launched the Hello Kitty range in 2009, and the wines have been sold at specialist UK retailers for several years.
However, they will now be stripped from shelves following a crackdown from The Portman Group, a regulator funded by the drinks industry.
The watchdog received the following complaint from a shopper: ‘Astonished to see alcohol sold under a children’s toy brand. How can that possibly be legal?’
After mounting an investigation, the Portman Group decided that the Hello Kitty wines were likely to ‘have a particular appeal to under-18s’.
Torti Wine, a producer based in Lombardy, disagreed with the ruling. The company argued that Hello Kitty is not a children’s toy brand, but rather ‘a brand popular with all ages particularly mothers, grandmothers and older celebrities including Kim Kardashian’.
That response is unlikely to win Tenimenti Castelrotto many friends in the Kardashian house, and it also received short shrift from the Portman Group.
The regulator’s independent complaints panel noted that the Hello Kitty TV show and video game are aimed at children aged three and above.
The panel also determined that Hello Kitty is predominantly marketed to children in the UK, and it noted that the wines featured a cute cartoon kitten on the label. Ultimately, the wines were found to be in breach of the Portman Group Code rule 3.2(h).
Panel chair Rachel Childs said: ‘In this case, it was clear from the producer’s response that it hadn’t intended to market the Hello Kitty wine to children
