Pakistani entrepreneur Murrad Gillani drops Nestlé ingredients after legal dispute
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✧ GENERATE BRIEFING
Prominent Pakistani culinary entrepreneur Syed Murrad Gillani founder of popular dessert and fast-food ventures including Dezāto, Dumbo Donuts, and FRIED has announced a complete operational break from multinational giant Nestlé, choosing to purge all Nestlé products and trademarked inputs from his kitchens following a legal dispute. The controversy erupted after Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. issued a formal legal notice on September 23, challenging the commercial use of brand names like "Milo Cookie" and "Cerelac Cookie". While Gillani’s legal defense formally refuted any infringement claims in a September 29 response emphasizing that Nestlé executives were briefed on the recipe integration as early as June 2025 and raised no objections during subsequent kitchen inspections the entrepreneur opted for a decisive pivot toward complete brand independence. Rather than pursuing prolonged corporate litigation, Gillani accelerated an in-house R&D overhaul, successfully engineering a proprietary local malt powder to fully localize formulations such as the Moto Malt Melt line.
Pakistani entrepreneur Syed Murrad Gillani, founder of dessert and fast-food brands including Dezāto, Dumbo Donuts and FRIED, has decided to stop using Nestlé products as ingredients following a legal dispute over the use of the company’s trademarks.
Gillani said his business will also discontinue products carrying the names “Milo Cookie” and “Cerelac Cookie”. He said the products would be replaced with new flavours as part of a broader decision to remove Nestlé ingredients from his operations.
The decision follows a legal notice issued by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. on September 23. Gillani rejected the allegations through his lawyers in a response dated September 29.
Legal Defense and Prior Disclosures
According to Gillani’s legal response, Nestlé representatives had been aware of his planned products for more than a year. His lawyers said Gillani met Nestlé representatives at the company’s Lahore headquarters on June 23, 2025, where he explained that Milo would be used as an ingredient in products made according to his own recipes.
The legal response further claims that a Nestlé representative later visited Gillani’s kitchen and observed the production process, with no objection raised at the time. Gillani’s lawyers argue that the use of “Milo” and “Cerelac” on the products was intended to identify the ingredients or flavours and did not imply that Nestlé manufactured, sponsored or endorsed the finished products.
Transition to Localised Production
Gillani has now said the dispute has prompted his business to develop its own alternatives. He said its malt powder has already been developed locally and that the Moto Malt Melt product will be fully localised, including its formulation and recipe.
The entrepreneur also said Nestlé products would be removed from his kitchen within the next two to three days. The existing Milo and Cerelac-based products are expected to be replaced by new flavours.
The dispute highlights the trademark and branding issues that can arise when food businesses use well-known branded products as ingredients while incorporating those brand names into the names of their own finished products. The legal positions of the two sides remain contested, with Gillani’s response disputing Nestlé’s allegations.
