Copycat products have been hiking up prices resulting in shoppers paying more for own-label brands than they would otherwise, a new report has found.
According to a dossier from business service the British Brands Group (BBG), who sent evidence to the Trading Standards and the Competition & Markets Authority, there are nearly 30 examples of retailer own-brand products using “parasitic” tactics to target shoppers.
BBG said while there was “extensive” evidence already that mimicking brands could persuade shoppers to accidentally buy the copycat products or believe they were from a branded manufacturer.
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The BBG’s evidence cites a judgment decision bought before the Scottish Court of Session in 2021, involving Hendrick’s Gin and Lidl brand Hampstead Gin, with the latter having chnaged their design closer to the look of Hendrick’s.
Hendrick’s Gin maker William Grant & Sons took Lidl to court over alleged trademark infringement, and as a result of the court session in Edinburgh, Lidl were temporarily banned from selling Hampstead Gin in Scotland.
“The similar packaging included a larger bottle so the per cl price could have been expected to be lower,” says the report.
BBG director John Noble said: “We all know why copycats are done, it’s either to sell more or to charge more. This is the first time we’ve had hard evidence.
“We have lots of evidence to show that people mistakenly buy these products, but this is the first time we’ve got good evidence of price hikes. This is particularly topical at a time when shoppers are facing a cost-of-living crisis.”
Noble added that brand owners do the very best they can to protect themselves, “but as far as the shoppers are concerned, they are very much on their own.”
“The shopper has been left high and dry, which is why it’s so important to shine a light on this issue,” Noble said.
The news comes as Lindt won a court battle against Lidl in September, ordering the discount grocer to cease production of its copycat foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies and destroy its remaining stock.
