Aldi rip off/copies....how do they get away with it ?

[icowden]

I just tend to buy the brands I want these days, although the Lidl version of spreadable butter is very nice.

I also vote for this. Two tubs for the price of one tub of Anchor. What's not to like!?

 

[presta]

I could never taste the difference tbh along with most of Waitrose food.

Psychologist Prof Richard Wiseman likes doing experiments to debunk 'connoisseurs', most can't tell the difference they claim to when put in a double blind trial. Give people drinks where the flavour is mismatched to the colour (eg: raspberry flavour coloured orange), and they taste the colour not the flavour. Martin Lewis did some tests on premium vs budget food, and a large number couldn't tell the difference, or preferred the budget products.

In the bar at a local hotel I watched as they got a blindfold, and put four identical glasses on the bar with lager, bitter, Guinness & water in. Everyone howled with laughter when the first one got it wrong, and people were falling over themselves to show how it's done, but by the time a dozen or more had all got it wrong the volunteers were a lot thinner on the ground.

 

[AndyRM]

Psychologist Prof Richard Wiseman likes doing experiments to debunk 'connoisseurs', most can't tell the difference they claim to when put in a double blind trial. Give people drinks where the flavour is mismatched to the colour (eg: raspberry flavour coloured orange), and they taste the colour not the flavour. Martin Lewis did some tests on premium vs budget food, and a large number couldn't tell the difference, or preferred the budget products.

In the bar at a local hotel I watched as they got a blindfold, and put four identical glasses on the bar with lager, bitter, Guinness & water in. Everyone howled with laughter when the first one got it wrong, and people were falling over themselves to show how it's done, but by the time a dozen or more had all got it wrong the volunteers were a lot thinner on the ground.

The psychology of senses really is interesting. Ages ago I watched a programme where they used lamps to alter the colour of food, same thing absolutely every time but depending on the colour some people just wouldn't go near it, even though they knew.

 

[icowden]

Psychologist Prof Richard Wiseman likes doing experiments to debunk 'connoisseurs', most can't tell the difference they claim to when put in a double blind trial. Give people drinks where the flavour is mismatched to the colour (eg: raspberry flavour coloured orange), and they taste the colour not the flavour. Martin Lewis did some tests on premium vs budget food, and a large number couldn't tell the difference, or preferred the budget products.

There was an experiment with wine experts and red wines. IIRC given a selection of wines from £5.99 to wines worth hundreds of pounds the one voted the best was the £5.99 bottle from Waitrose.

There was also the Brochet study where wine science students were given a white wine dyed red and none of them spotted that it was white wine.

 

[presta]

There was an experiment with wine experts and red wines. IIRC given a selection of wines from £5.99 to wines worth hundreds of pounds the one voted the best was the £5.99 bottle from Waitrose.

Conversely, if you leave the price labels on they'll prefer the taste of the most expensive one, even if the labels have been swapped over. Same with paintings, people say they like the one with the highest price tag, even when the prices are swapped.

Here's a really intriguing one:

An experimenter shows the subject two photos of people of the opposite sex and asks them which one they find most attractive. After they've chosen, he hands them the photo they picked and asks them to explain why they chose it, which they do. Unbeknown to the subject, the 'experimenter' is actually a conjuror who's swapped the photos and handed them the one they rejected, and yet the majority of people don't notice, and still describe what they liked about it.

 

[MontyVeda]

in a nutshell, we're gullible f*£&wits.

 

[Beebo]

Aldi have been found guilty of ripping off Thatcher’s cider.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czdl3l17v1qo.amp

It will be interesting to see if others bring similar claims now.

 

[gbb]

I've written similar on the same subject, hopefully not this thread.

While it's true some products are made at the same factory for different supermarkets, certainly on the citrus fruit industry, let's take M&S vss Aldi easy peelers..
The standards, quality, sweetness etc requirements are far more demanding for M&S, their product WILL be statistically better.
Then take into account the.manufacturing standards the supplier has to adhere to, staff welfare, being a big one and that includes the source suppliers, where ever in the world that may be, however poor the country may comparatively br.
Anti slavery, facility standards, traceability of chemicals and products are all far more stringent for M&S.
That's (partly) why you pay more for it, its also about ethics.

So I guess you can understand why after all those standards and cost implementing them, a premium supplier.may feel aggrieved when it's undercut .

Ultimately, you pays your.money...

 

[bonzobanana]

I personally don't think its fair that Aldi, Lidl and other supermarkets mimic the packaging of more expensive brands. I personally don't buy the more expensive brands myself but it seems morally wrong to copy other brands packaging and hope people will confuse their product with a more expensive product. There are lots of factories that make generic food for multiple supermarkets. Most supermarkets create their own packaging but some mimic more expensive brands. I would definitely give these big brands more protection because I see absolutely no reason why such supermarkets can't create their own packaging designs which are not misleading. I'm occasionally amazed by the stupidity of some people who believe that because a product mimics the packaging or style of a leading brand that some how they are connected. Some of these generic products are not acceptable quality to me so despite the packaging they are on occasion clearly inferior to them where as other such products I don't care about the difference and occasionally I prefer the cheaper product.

 

[Jameshow]

They flirt with what is acceptable..
its pretty cynical marketing IMO. And is freeloading off the back of others good name.

Oh no I thought I was in M+S how did I happen to walk into Lidl!

 

[postman]

Well my Melton Mowbray pork pie £1-99 today was fit for a King.It was gorgeous,plus i love their Ruby Red Or Ruby Ale,which is i think a tribute to Hobgoblin Red or Ruby Red Ale.Last bought 1 pint £1-39 per bottle,bought late last year.Think Hobgoblin £1-69/79 ish.

 

[BrumJim]

Not convinced that it is about confusion, although clearly Aldi have over-stepped the mark with Thatchers.

I think it is more a case of "this is your normal purchase, and here is our copy which is cheaper. We know it, you know it, and any reasonable person knows it".

One one side, smaller companies would try it on, and clearly piggy-back on the marketing from the larger company, i.e. you bought Colin because it was an M&S product, but might not have bought a catepillar cake if it wasn't. They get court. They lose. In the case of Aldi, Lidl, they have already built up the brand, so you won't buy it because of the M&S item, you have gone to Aldi/Lidl because of their marketing and saw the product on the shelf, and then bought it.

On the other side is that the law isn't being applied in a manner that is fair. If M&S accuse you of copying, unless you have deep pockets (and M&S will make sure that you need very deep pockets), you won't be able to afford even getting it to court, let alone the risk of failing, so you will run away before you get burnt. If you are Aldi or Lidl, then your pockets are deep enough to go right up to the day of the court case and set a precident. Let us stop pretending about it being about laws and it being fair.

 

[Fastpedaller]

I like Marmite........ But I prefer Aldi's Mighty. I think the name is inspired , also the similar jar but with an orange lid instead of the Marmite yellow lid. It took me a while before I even noticed the different colour of the lid, as my vision is colour deficient (wot people call colour blind!).

 

[Fastpedaller]

I'm a kit car enthusiast, and some of you may be aware there have been several kit cars with bodies resembling major manufacturer's products. One that stands out is Ferrari (some wag called the replicas Fauxrraries ). Anyway..... It seems the mighty F tried to stop a replica being produced (I think in EU, so law may be different in other parts of the World) but failed because they hadn't made the original for many years. - Ferrari could, however, prevent the manufacture of scale models of the car because they still did that themselves (Corgi beware )

 

[MontyVeda]

Aldi have been found guilty of ripping off Thatcher’s cider.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czdl3l17v1qo.amp

It will be interesting to see if others bring similar claims now.

others are always bringing claims. It's nothing new. Remember Cuthbert-gate a couple of years ago?