Caffeine is supposed to help people wake up with a fresh mind for the day, but what happened when coffee brands are caught off guard. Italian coffee maker Illycaffe has faced social media outrage, after Kashmir was partly missing from a map of India on its box. Illycaffe responded with an apology for the gaffe, and is working on changing its packaging to include a complete Indian map.
The brand also added that it takes time to replace all cans with new ones, and requested consumers to be patient. Illycaffe which entered Indian markets in 2008 with ambitions of setting up a chain, also sells coffee machines and espresso cups. Flipkart and Amazon have also been questioned for selling the brand with an incorrect map in India.
One user even pointed out that Illycaffe made the gaffe on a pack which has been marketing Indian Arabica selection, which has been sourced locally from the country.
At the same time users urged the firm to stop selling their coffee till they change the packaging, in order to avoid legal issues, and told Indians to refrain from buying it. Illycaffe were advised to comply with guidelines set by the Survey of India, before printing a map of the country on their can.
Some users also posted a screenshot of a customer raising this issue with the company before, and pointed out how the firm hasn't made changes even after a year.
Before this edtech platform Byju's has also been pulled up for a map showing a part of the state as Azad Kashmir, and BBC as well as Al Jazeera have also faced flak for similar errors. Twitter itself had to remove a map of India showing Kashmir and Ladakh outside the country, from its Tweet Life section.
