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Mondelēz filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against ALDI, alleging the packaging for ALDI’s store-brand cookies and crackers “blatantly copies” Mondelēz snack products like Chips Ahoy!, Wheat Thins, and OREO.
In a federal lawsuit filed in Illinois, Chicago-based Mondelēz said ALDI’s use of “nearly identical packaging” for similar snack items “trades upon the valuable reputation and goodwill” of multiple Mondelēz items, also including Ritz, Nilla Wafers, and Nutter Butter.
The packaging, according to court documents, is “likely to deceive and confuse consumers and dilute the distinctive quality of Mondelēz’s unique product packaging, and if not stopped, threaten to irreparably harm Mondelēz and its valuable brands.”
In the lawsuit, Mondelēz displayed side-by-side photos of the alleged “copycats” against its own snack brands, highlighting the similarities in packaging colors, fonts, and symbols. ALDI’s Thin Wheat crackers, for example, come in a gold box very similar to Mondelēz’s Wheat Thins.
Mondelēz said it contacted ALDI many times about the similar packaging but contends ALDI didn’t go far enough in making changes. Mondelēz said about ALDI, “Defendant’s business model involves an emphasis on low-priced private label products that resemble the look and feel of well-known brands.”
Mondelēz is seeking monetary damages and a court order that would stop ALDI from selling products that infringe on its trademarks. ALDI hasn’t responded to press inquiries about the lawsuit.
ALDI has a reputation for its look-alike versions of several national brands.
Mondelēz’s lawsuit follows a January case in which cider brewer Thatchers won a UK trademark infringement suit against ALDI over its lemon cider, with the UK Supreme Court later rejecting ALDI’s attempt to appeal.
Thomas Chartres-Moore, head of intellectual property at law firm Stephens Scown, told The Grocer that ALDI may have to “change its business model” since Thatchers didn’t have to prove ALDI was creating consumer confusion.
In Australia last year, ALDI lost a copyright infringement case to a maker of baby foods. Additionally, in March of this year, ALDI was sued in the UK by a fruit drinks company for allegedly copying its package design.
Speaking to Store Brands, Melanie King, an intellectual property litigator with the law firm Armstrong Teasdale, said Mondelēz only has to prove that ALDI’s packaging will result in a “likelihood of confusion” for consumers. However, she noted that ALDI could still argue that consumers expect major chains to offer a cheaper alternative to national brands.
King stated, “People who shop ALDI regularly are well aware they are not getting name-brand versions. The packaging is not telling them they are getting OREOs, for example, but the ALDI version of the product.”