logo
Sainsbury's embroiled in dupe row as independent flavoured butter brand accuses supermarket giant of making 'carbon copies' of its products

Sainsbury's embroiled in dupe row as independent flavoured butter brand accuses supermarket giant of making 'carbon copies' of its products

Daily Mail​13-05-2025

Sainsbury's has become embroiled in a bitter copycat spat with an independent butter brand.
The British supermarket is facing claims from Sublime Butter that its new Taste the Difference butter range, released last week, comprises 'carbon copies' of its products.
Sublime Butter offers premium butters in flavours such as garlic and herb and garlic, rosemary, and mint at prices of up to £4.95.
While the brand has found success at various retailers and is stocked in Harrods and Selfridges, it has claimed that Sainsbury's has 'gone and accidentally made carbon copies of the ones we sent you last year.' Sainsbury's has denied the claims.
Sublime Butter founder Tony Ho told The Grocer that Sainsbury's contacted his brand in July last year to consider stocking them, which led to conversations about flavours and them sending 'loads of samples', said Ho.
Ho, who has approached the Groceries Code Adjudicator over the matter, said the retailer then went radio silent without offering an explanation as to why.
Taking to Instagram, the brand publicly directed a letter to Sainsbury's after the retailer 'ghosted' their attempts of direct communication.
'Your 'new' range of flavoured butters look great,' the statement said, continuing, 'Particularly the Chimichurri and the Truffle, Parmesan & Black Pepper ones. Did you come up with those yourselves? Be honest now.
'Because it seems like you've gone and accidentally made carbon copies of the ones we sent you last year. You know, the ones you pretended you wanted to stock? We won awards for ours though.
'Not to cry over spilled milk but as a small producer, we're sick of having giant supermarkets swoop in, ask for samples, and then rip us off.
'We're good people working hard to make something we're proud of. We love what we do. We find joy in helping people to eat better. Bad sportsmanship from big players means that it's increasingly difficult to do.'
Sublime Butter concluded the post by urging Sainsbury's to develop 'original' products in the future, writing, 'Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so thank you. But also: stop and think.
'Take the £££s you've spent copying us and make something original. Go out on a limb.
'All these supermarket price wars and you've all forgotten the one true basis of any good brand: stand for something. Then, maybe you won't have to stoop to following in other people's wake.'
A Sainsbury's spokesperson told MailOnline, 'There is no truth in these claims. We value our supplier relationships deeply - every supplier is an essential partner to our business and no matter their size or scale we are committed to fair treatment and trusted partnerships.
'We launched our Taste the Difference flavoured butter range in response to growing customer demand for more flavourful butter and joined several other retailers with launches in this category, based on customer insights and following well-established flavour trends in the market.
'Our own label product development process operates entirely separately and the team has no contact or discussion with suppliers over the brands we stock.'
It comes after Aldi encountered dupe allegations after an independent company accused the supermarket giant of ripping off its product last year.
Joe Moruzzi, managing director of Surrey-based brand Pleese, claimed the supermarket giant had designed a dupe of his brand Freezecakes.
Taking to Instagram the the dessert company shared a clip saying Aldi even 'had the cheek' to call their dupe the same name, just dropping the 's' and used its slogan, 'It's not ice cream', which Pleese claims it has trademarked.
Freezecakes, available in Waitrose, Co-op and Consort Frozen Foods, are frozen cheesecakes in a tub, made from 40 percent cream cheese with flavoured sauces and biscuit pieces.
FEMAIL understands the product is not currently on sale in Aldi and the supermarket giant was in touch with Pleese.
Joe claimed that he was alerted to the Aldi product when customers sent them photos via social media.
Commenting on a picture of a very similar cheesecake product found in Aldi, which was shared by uknewestfoods on Instagram, one person said, 'The nerve! Freezecakes are an amazing little company. Get f**** Aldi.'
Another wrote, 'Oh that is so naughty to rip off a new fledgling company, I supported you with the Colin/Cuthbert cake, but this is low! Very disappointed in you!'
Meanwhile, another said, 'This is not cool at all. Ripping off a small business so blatantly, make sure you pick up the original, and best from @freezecakes'
Speaking to FEMAIL, Pleese boss Joe said, 'Initially I thought great, the frozen dessert category is growing, I then looked closer and saw Freezecakes and 'it's not ice cream', two names and phrases we use and have trademarked. They're also exactly the same flavours.
'We're all about growing the category, but when large companies just copy tiny companies like for like it's disheartening for us and potentially off putting for new entrepreneurs.
'We're here to stand up for small businesses and I hope this is a note to encourage any copycat ideas to be less intrusive and detrimental to small brands that have worked so hard and made many sacrifices to get to where they are.'
A Pleese employee took to Instagram to address the controversy saying, 'For those that don't know us, we are Pleese and we had to concept for a Cheesecake dessert that could be eaten like ice cream back in 2017.
'We started making overload cheesecakes which were loved by all, and we even made one for The Queen.
'Fast forward to 2020, we finally had the concept of creating a frozen cheesecake that could be eaten like ice cream from a tub, layers of cheesecake with biscuit chunks, fancy inclusions and sauces, we sold these via our website.
'Three years later we finally launched in the supermarkets and we were over the moon as we are still a startup brand with less the five employees. '
After receiving snaps of the dupe from their loyal followers on social media the Pleese team said they had a feeling it was going to happen.
They said: 'Products get duped all the time, but we are the little guys, we are not a massive company with thousands of staff. 18 months ago we were still making this product by hand in a little kitchen in Redhill.
'The thing that got us was the name, Freezecake, not Freezecakes with an S, singular, that and 'it's not ice cream' which is trademarked by us, is featured on their tub.
The brand said they refuse to be 'bullied' and want to 'raise awareness' for all the small brands this is happening to.
FEMAIL understands the product is not currently on sale in Aldi stores.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nottingham Forest write to Uefa over Crystal Palace Europa League concerns
Nottingham Forest write to Uefa over Crystal Palace Europa League concerns

Telegraph

time23 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Nottingham Forest write to Uefa over Crystal Palace Europa League concerns

Nottingham Forest have written to Uefa to express their concerns about Crystal Palace qualifying for the Europa League with a decision expected by the end of this month as to whether they should be expelled. There have been suggestions that Brighton & Hove Albion, who would enter the Conference League in place of Forest if they are therefore promoted, have also complained to European football's governing body. But Telegraph Sport understands this is not the case. Uefa are set to inform Palace whether they are in breach of their multi-club ownership rules by June 30 – although the matter may then be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which would delay a final verdict. The FA Cup winners met Uefa officials last Tuesday in a two-hour meeting in an attempt to avoid being barred from European competition because John Textor, the American businessman who has a 43 per cent stake in the club, also owns French club Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League. Palace insist there are no sharing of information or staff or facilities with the French side. The club argue that despite Textor's shareholding he has no say in the day-to-day running and has just 25 per cent of voting rights. Indeed Textor has previously spoken about his annoyance at the lack of say he has at Palace and has been trying to sell his shares. Textor reiterated this after last week's meeting in Nyon. However, Forest have now written a letter to Uefa expressing their position and asking for clarification over whether Palace will be involved. However, in a further complication, Palace's Europa League place could also depend on whether Uefa decides to allow Lyon to take part in the competition next season. Uefa's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) disqualified Lyon from European competitions in December but allowed them to continue after the club met certain demands. However, Lyon are being 'carefully monitored' by the CFCB and if they are deemed to be in breach of a settlement agreement they could be disqualified from next season's Europa League in any case which would automatically earn Palace a reprieve. On the other hand Lyon's involvement, if Palace are thrown out, will heighten the likelihood of the latter turning to CAS. At the same time Forest could also turn to the Swiss-based adjudicators if they are not satisfied with Uefa's decision. It, therefore, appears to be a legal minefield. Palace may well have fallen foul of Uefa's rules because clubs have to establish separate ownership structures before March 1 if they hoped to play in the same competition in the following season. Matters are further complicated because one option for Uefa to consider is to demote Palace to the Conference League as a form of punishment. That is believed to be unlikely, however, as it may lead to further appeals. Palace have strongly refuted any wrongdoing and have attempted to comply with Uefa's rules as quickly as possible having won the first trophy in their history. Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner, who also owns Greek club Olympiacos, diluted his stake by placing his shares in a blind trust to ensure there was no conflict when it appeared they would qualify for the Champions League.

Eye-watering sum scandal-hit Gino D'Acampo's restaurant empire owed when it plunged into administration revealed
Eye-watering sum scandal-hit Gino D'Acampo's restaurant empire owed when it plunged into administration revealed

The Sun

time38 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Eye-watering sum scandal-hit Gino D'Acampo's restaurant empire owed when it plunged into administration revealed

GINO D'Acampo's restaurant empire owed £7million when it plunged into administration, The Sun can reveal. The scandal-hit TV chef's chain of eateries was saved from the brink of closure last month in a £5million buyout. Controlling company Upmarket Leisure owed £5.3million to HMRC and almost £2million to creditors. Among them were food suppliers owed almost £500,000, a wine dealer due £302,000 and a pasta company expecting £4,809. A statement of affairs shows Upmarket only has £117,000 in cash at the bank and £320,000 in other assets to try to cover its debts. It lists D'Acampo, 48, as a ten per cent shareholder of the business, which ran five venues across London, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester. HMRC had issued a petition to wind up Upmarket at the High Court and administrators were appointed after a previous sale fell through. Staff were warned about a delay in wages being paid. But the jobs of all 400 employees were saved when the company was bought out in May. Last year, the Italian was unable to pay staff and the taxman after his My Pasta Bar chain wound up with around £5million losses. It comes after D'Acampo was accused of years of sexually inappropriate behaviour, which he denies. ITV has vowed to stop using him. Gino D'Acampo makes string of smutty remarks during radio interview as he returns to public eye following ITV axe 1

Volkswagen Rethinks EV Future With A New Twist
Volkswagen Rethinks EV Future With A New Twist

Auto Blog

timean hour ago

  • Auto Blog

Volkswagen Rethinks EV Future With A New Twist

The German automaker has delayed its Scalable Systems Platform for a good reason, and now we know why. Why All-New Scalable Systems Platform Was Delayed Volkswagen is in the middle of a turnaround strategy that will put the German brand back on track. Its grand plan was revealed earlier this year, with nine new models to be launched in the next few years. The all-new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP)is part of this movement, though various issues have plagued its rollout, including software issues related to Cariad. Now, VW has revealed an update about the SSP, and it's a major one that involves internal combustion engines. 0:04 / 0:09 Audi A5 replaces A4: So, what's changed? Watch More After years of touting the SSP as its clean-sheet EV architecture, the German auto giant has revealed that SSP will also support internal combustion engines, though not in the traditional sense. Instead, VW is pivoting toward range-extending gas engines that generate electricity to charge batteries, not drive the wheels. Impact On Future Models While VW may tout this as an evolution of the SSP architecture, the incorporation of a range-extender engine is more like a safety net for the brand. At this point, several automakers have already backpedaled from their all-EV push due to waning demand for BEVs. VW is one of them, and this is the company's solution. The SSP architecture will still be fully electric at heart, but it will also accommodate range extenders. These are internal combustion engines used solely to generate power for the battery, with no mechanical link to the wheels. Nissan's e-Power, which is reportedly reaching the US market, operates on the same principle as VW's SSP. The defunct Mazda MX-30 also got a similar upgrade with a rotary range extender, while VW Group's own Scout brand is also launching in the market with the same technology. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. Next VW Golf Will Use SSP Architecture One of SSP's headline vehicles will be the ninth-generation VW Golf, which will be fully electric and will coexist with the current Mk8 Golf for several years. It's unclear whether there will be a range-extended version of the Golf, but we expect the model to arrive by 2029, so there is an allowance for adjustments to VW's plan. In China, the world's biggest automotive market, Volkswagen already previewed the ID. Era concept, which features a gasoline-powered range extender. Of note, EV demand in China is also dropping, with range-extended EVs and plug-in hybrid gaining popularity. Despite the expanded capabilities, VW doesn't expect this range-extended EV strategy to take hold everywhere. According to VW CEO Thomas Schäfer, Europe is unlikely to see SSP-based range extender models where plug-in hybrids remain the more viable option. Source: Volkswagen About the Author Jacob Oliva View Profile

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store