Choice targets copycat supermarket brands
Consumer group Choice has launched a campaign against copycat supermarket products at Coles and Woolworths.
A report published today by Choice claims that “the big two supermarkets use tactics including poorer shelf positioning and copycat packaging, to advantage supermarket generic brands over established labels”.
Choice spokeswoman Ingrid Just said: “When two brands compete for space on the shelf, and when one of those brands is owned by the supermarket, it’s not hard to figure out who the winner is going to be.
“For the consumer who is watching their budget, the rise of generic brands may be a good thing. For the shopper who wants an independent product however, their choices become more limited.”
She added: “The days of cheap and basic labels that readily identified generic brands are long gone. Nowadays, a generic label can look just like any other. In some cases, they’re almost copies. The generic labels are very effective, it is easy to mistakenly pick up generic brand products because they look just like established brands.”
Choice is running a competition in which it asks shoppers to vote on which generic label most closely copies an established product.
Choice’s report on the rise of generic supermarket brands is available on the group’s website.
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Interesting tactic used by Choice. It sure does highlight the duopoly power and copy-cat product nature. But will Choice take it a step further and act on encorcing stronger retailer guidelines to promote more fair competitive behaviour?
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Why target the big 2? Aldi have been getting away with it for years. Pantone anyone?
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Hmm. For the most part, each pair of packages share a vaguely similar colour scheme, both with a hero illustration/photo of the product within. But some of the comparisons in the video are just silly.
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Actually, Aldi started the whole copycat label thing with their phoney brand names and colorful, professionally printed labels. Prior to Aldi, generic products were easily identified as such.
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According to this ad, they aren’t even targeting Safeway (Woolworths). Pretty sure all the premium generic brands shown were from Coles. Having said that, I do need to pay attention when buying some products as the packaging are incredibly similar.
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Hi Cecille,
Just to be clear, the video to illustrate this article was created by Mumbrella some time ago and published at the time. I included it here as it seemed a good illustration of Choice’s point. All of the products featured were from Coles, but I’m sure Woolworths would have seen a very similar result.
All the best,
Tim
Choice suggests that “For the consumer who is watching their budget, the rise of generic brands may be a good thing…” Actually, they’re wrong. Anything that would cause a consumer to pick any product in the mistaken belief that they’re picking another is deception and very very bad.
Supermarket own-label products are fine, so long as the consumer knows what they’re buying. Let the consumer try it, knowingly, and if they find it better value (combination of price & quality), they’ll repeat.
Deception, “passing off”, is illegal. Many brand owners are too intimidated by the size of their business with the retailers to do anything about it.
If one manufacturer of the size/scale of Unilever, L’Oreal or P&G were to protest at the actions of either of the big two supermarkets, and remove ALL their brands from that retailer until the situation was corrected; and support their action with publicity telling what they’d done, why, and suggesting everyone shop at the other of the Big Two, then not only would they get excellent treatment from their chosen retailer during the protest, they’d also have an opportunity to completely restart their relationship with the other when they caved in. (BTW, it worked many years ago for J&J and Dunnes Stores in Ireland).
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Coles and Woolworths are privately owned companies and can do what they want.
Nobody is forced to shop there and if they wanted to only sell their own brand good they would be entitled to.
If their brands are infringing on trademarks/brand identities of similar products, then it’s up to the manufacturer of the goods to take them to task – not Choice!
The sad truth is that both the big 2 are so big that no one will challenge them over their non food interests – pokies, booze etc
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There wasn’t a single item shown that would throw me off. Doesn’t take much to see the difference. Let them make their packaging more attractive. I always thought black and gold packaging was poorly done. As for Aldi, good that they are shaking the market, copy cat labels or not. I’m originally from the states and their quality has improved over the years. Inflation is smacking us twice with smaller packaging and/or higher prices. I can assure you that I’ll not make a mistake when picking up a package of Tim Tams…..I don’t care how clever they are with the packaging. I tried Dick Smith’s once and about gagged.
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Coles and Woolworths will be gettting a big lawsuit for what they’re doing here. Why? Generic branded products copying the art of the original name brand product is a big no-no in my book. When is the ACCC gonna take action and hit the big two supermarkets with a big lawsuit?
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I’m with David – it’s sneaky & underhanded (and completely unsurprising) that the big two are doing this – I’ve noticed far more generic crap sneaking into prime position in the supermarkets.
Add to this the infamous way that these two chains treat suppliers and farmers and I think there’s a huge anti-competition case to be argued by the ACCC.
I go our of my way to shop at independent stores & food markets – but convenience (ie market power to be everywhere) makes it tough to avoid the big duo – and this is where they need their power reigned in.
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I refuse to buy generic labels even if when they are nearly double in price. I refuse to be tricked into buying ‘their’ brands, especially when sourced from overseas. I am tyring to buy all Australian…and its hard! I am supporting our farmers from buying from local farmers markets. I feel the Big 2 are controlling us – the population, and I wont be controlled or tempted to buy just because its cheaper. Suddenly they will have a large hold on the products, forcing their ‘competition out of the market or be shut down, and they will have the front seat to put prices up when they want. Look what they have down to the petrol!! I couldn’t buy fresh Australian garlic from Coles the other day, and when asked about garlic in jars I was shown a generic brand!! Needless to say I bought the Australian jar (even though it was labelled local and imported) and it was lower on the shelf and $2 dearer…but much stronger in flavour. I was told they couldn’t source Australian garlic…what a load of X#$% !!
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Garlic is harvested at the start of summer, so it’s possibly and even likely that they couldn’t get Aust. garlic. And does anyone seriously think that the legal departments of huge businesses llike Coles and Woolworths would have allowed their marketing departments to produce labels that would infringe copyright and incur a lawsuit?
I actually prefer the new labels and it makes me more inclined to purchase a generic brand than before because the black/gold or black/red/white labels are awful, and by inference, so were the products.
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Packaging is no doubt very powerful – evidenced this week in the High Courts re the plain packaging of tobacco.
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