Why This Company Is Suing Aldi UK Over Its Christmas Gin
It's not uncommon to find close similarities between different grocery stores' products. Aldi U.K., however, is currently under fire for its gold flake blackberry and clementine gin liqueurs, which British retailer Marks & Spencer says are "strikingly similar" to its patented Light Up holiday gin (via GB News). Marks & Spencer describes its gin on Twitter as "the ultimate Christmas gift," a "light-up snow globe gin liqueur" that contains 23-carat edible gold and silver leaf and comes in a magnum-sized bottle that lights up and plays music.
Aldi's similar product, The Infusionist gin, sells for almost $8 less than the M&S original, and it's described by its competitors as not appearing different enough for a consumer to be able to distinguish between the brands, reports Bustle. M&S' legal team has requested that Aldi pay damages for intellectual property infringement and destroy its remaining bottles of Infusionist gin. We won't take sides, but we'll definitely mourn the loss of so much holiday booze. It is worth saying, however, that this isn't the first time that Aldi has been sued by Marks & Spencer.
This is Caterpillargate round two
Some Aldi shoppers may remember an incident known as "Caterpillargate." In a similar story as the gin dispute, Marks & Spencer had sold a decorated character cake in the form of Colin the Caterpillar for more than 30 years, explains BBC. When Aldi launched its similar Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake for a limited time, M&S sued. When Aldi announced that it was bringing the cake back for a charity fundraiser, M&S fired back on Twitter, "Hey @AldiUK we love a charity idea (Colin's been a BIG fundraiser for years). We just want you to use your own character. How about #kevinthecarrotcake ? That idea's on us... and we promise we won't do Keith."
Following the gin incident, a Marks & Spencer spokesperson explained the company's reasoning for the lawsuits, "Our customers have confidence in our products because they trust our quality and sourcing standards so we will always seek to protect our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value — and protect our customers from obvious copies," according to GB News. Aldi has since replied in many meme forms, but the gist can be summed up with the shameless post, "We're... GINNOCENT #Round2 #FreeCuthbert" (via Twitter).