Aldi copycat products

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Just saw something on the MSN website about a UK court case about some Aldi "copycat" product - a gin ripping off the appearance of some M+S gin I think - that has just been decided against Aldi.

We may have done this before, but I have to say that, when shopping in Aldi the other day, I had to laugh at their "Bramwells Pickle". Any other Aldi groceries that are conspicuously taking the piss in terms of trademark rip-off, especially name-wise?

[caja-dglh]

There are a few breweries in the US which continually dance with getting a cease and desist.

Sort of related, but Trader Joes recently (finally) pulled their alternative branding for foreign food lines. They used to have Trader Ming, Trader Jose, Trader Giotto. Somehow customers determined that it was rather racist.

[Gangster Octopus]

How many caterpillar cakes are there?

[Patrick Thistle]

Like GO, I immediately thought of the caterpillar cake row from a couple of years ago.

I'm almost sure Aldi does it to get the publicity of being sued.

[Tony C]

They could have shown more imagination with their own brand Penguin bars. I agree that they deliberately sail close to the wind in terms of litigation, but I will give them credit for being playful rather than cynically exploitative. The reason I tend to look on Aldi rather kindly is that I was in the fruit import business when Aldi were trying to gain a foothold in the British supermarket sector and whilst I didn’t deal with them directly I know several people who did. They found Aldi buyers honest and straightforward to deal with and they always paid promptly and well within the terms of their credit agreement. In all my years in that sector I haven’t heard that said about any other supermarket chain. The fresh produce in their stores is always very good too.

[Jah Womble]

There must be hundreds of these. I don’t shop at Aldi, but used to buy a Sainsbury’s shampoo called Headway that was pretty much identical to Head & Shoulders in its design/livery, but maybe half the price. (The product itself did the job, but was thinner and paler blue, however.)

Further down the high street, yer fried chicken outlets have been coat-tailing KFC for years - with, I imagine, greatly diminishing results. Thankfully I’ll never eat at any of those places, either.

[Guy Profumo]

M&S?

The home of the "Pelican" bar and the "Bandido" biscuit?

Really?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I don't know about "rip-off" with some of these, but I spotted years ago that Asda's own-brand flu pills were completely identical to the popular branded one, right down to the registered numbers on the actual product and the fact they came from the same factory in Devon. Literally the only difference was the packaging, if you wanted to spend an extra £3 for a prettier cardboard box. Same's true for contact lens solution.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I completely agree re the “playful” nature of the imitation. Like I said, the “Bramwells” made me chuckle.

[pebblethefish]

I don't know about "rip-off" with some of these, but I spotted years ago that Asda's own-brand flu pills were completely identical to the popular branded one, right down to the registered numbers on the actual product and the fact they came from the same factory in Devon. Literally the only difference was the packaging, if you wanted to spend an extra £3 for a prettier cardboard box. Same's true for contact lens solution.

When I worked in a stationery warehouse, 20% of our fountain pen ink cartridges went in WH Smith boxes, the rest went in our branded boxes. Literally the same product, and Smith's sold ours as well as theirs, just charged more for them.

[ursus arctos]

Rogin discovers "own brand" products.

Film at Eleven.

[Sporting]

When I worked in a stationery warehouse, 20% of our fountain pen ink cartridges went in WH Smith boxes, the rest went in our branded boxes. Literally the same product, and Smith's sold ours as well as theirs, just charged more for them

Yes, this is another reason why I'm relatively immune to the advertising industry.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Rogin discovers "own brand" products.

Film at Eleven.

I think the OTFathon is at 8?

[Sporting]

I think the OTFathon is at 8?

UK time.

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

Has to be St Etiene lager. Used to be white can and almost identical logo to Stella, and always 'St Etiene'.

They obviously got a bit jumpy as now 'Sainte Etiene' and the logo is a bit more diverse.

But undoubtedly moody Stella.

[Discordant Resonance]

M&S?

The home of the "Pelican" bar and the "Bandido" biscuit?

Really?

I get "Pelican", but what's a "Bandido"?

[Antepli Ejderha]

They could have shown more imagination with their own brand Penguin bars. I agree that they deliberately sail close to the wind in terms of litigation, but I will give them credit for being playful rather than cynically exploitative. The reason I tend to look on Aldi rather kindly is that I was in the fruit import business when Aldi were trying to gain a foothold in the British supermarket sector and whilst I didn’t deal with them directly I know several people who did. They found Aldi buyers honest and straightforward to deal with and they always paid promptly and well within the terms of their credit agreement. In all my years in that sector I haven’t heard that said about any other supermarket chain. The fresh produce in their stores is always very good too.

Didn't Asda have Puffin bars with the slogan pick up a puffin?

[Guy Profumo]

I get "Pelican", but what's a "Bandido"?

Bandit

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1hcMOIjA6F4

[Discordant Resonance]

They could have shown more imagination with their own brand Penguin bars. I agree that they deliberately sail close to the wind in terms of litigation, but I will give them credit for being playful rather than cynically exploitative. The reason I tend to look on Aldi rather kindly is that I was in the fruit import business when Aldi were trying to gain a foothold in the British supermarket sector and whilst I didn’t deal with them directly I know several people who did. They found Aldi buyers honest and straightforward to deal with and they always paid promptly and well within the terms of their credit agreement. In all my years in that sector I haven’t heard that said about any other supermarket chain. The fresh produce in their stores is always very good too.

Not to mention that both German chains pay their staff the living wage.

[Southport Zeb]

How many caterpillar cakes are there?

Enough that Only Connect did a missing vowels round a couple of weeks ago which had a category of "Caterpillar Cakes and their Supermarkets"

[ursus arctos]

For North Americans who have no idea what you are going on about

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article...p-aWWF09i4NMJ2

[ad hoc]

(thanks. It wasn't just North Americans)

[Patrick Thistle]

For North Americans who have no idea what you are going on about

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article...p-aWWF09i4NMJ2

I sometimes wonder if you Google whatever we are waffling about so you can regale fellow Americans with crazy stories from Britland like supermarkets suing each other about caterpillar shaped cakes.

[Jah Womble]

M&S?

The home of the "Pelican" bar and the "Bandido" biscuit?

Really?

During the 1970s, M&S also had the Break-In chocolate biscuit bar, which was pretty much identical in taste/size/yellow package design to the established Breakaway. (The latter had itself got into a bit of hot water for ripping off the Monty Python ‘nudge-nudge’ sketch in its commercials.)