Supermarkets in copycat con

From cereal to shampoo, fifth of shoppers say they pick up lookalike own-brands by mistake

SHOPPERS are being fooled by supermarket copycat products of popular brands of everything from breakfast cereal to shampoo.

A new study has found that 20 per cent of shoppers will mistakenly pick up a copy when it is on the same shelf as the branded product.

This rises to 64 per cent when only the copy is on the shelf, according to research funded by the British Brands Group.

Food manufacturers spend millions creating memorable packaging and advertising to promote their products, but say they are losing sales to supermarkets who produce lookalike versions using the same colours and label style.

The study carried out by Acuity Intelligence and led by Dr Tim Holmes used eye-tracking techniques to follow the behaviour of participants. They assessed the time taken to find products, the accuracy of decision-making and participants’ recall of the products they had seen.

Dr Holmes, a neuroscientist, looked at genuine brands such as Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Rich Tea and Digestive biscuits from McVitie’s, Coco Pops and Special K from Kellogg’s, Stork and Lurpak versus copycat products from high street stores. The copycat versions were sold by Boots, Tesco and Aldi, but all mainstream supermarkets use the same tactics.

The study identified the fact that most shoppers are effectively on autopilot. Problems arise when the visual similarity of a pack is sufficient for the copy to be recognised as the brand.

The study found that when people are looking at a shelf, colour is the primary feature they use to identify products. It concluded that picking up

‘Encouraging false assumptions’

a copy rather than the genuine product was an ‘inevitable consequence of package similarity on unconscious shopper decisions in store’.

The research was sparked by a report by Which? in 2013 that identified 150 products with similar packaging. Current examples identified by the British Brands Group include several sold by Aldi, such as its Harvest Morn Frosted Flakes and Crisp Rice, which look very similar to Kellogg’s Frosties and Rice Krispies. Aldi’s Snackrite Stackers are a dead ringer for Pringles and its Oaties look similar to Hobnobs.

BBG director John Noble said: ‘In the cold light of day, it is easy to spot a copy but that is not how we shop. In the supermarket, there are thousands of products and these are everyday purchases. We devote seconds to each and rely on shortcuts to make our choices.

‘Products in similar packaging prey on this, prompting mistakes and encouraging false assumptions. Similar packaging that misleads shoppers is unlawful but goes unchallenged in the UK.’

In theory, individual brands could bring legal action under the law around intellectual property rights, but this is a grey area.

The Consumer Protection Regulations are more wideranging and could also be used, but these rules are enforced by only Trading Standards and the Competi- tion and Markets Authority, who have refused requests to take any action.

Brands have asked the Government to change the law to allow them to bring civil action cases under these regulations, but this was rejected by ministers.

The British Retail Consortium, which speaks for the chains, said: ‘This area is covered by legislation and in a review in 2015 the Government concluded “there is little clear evidence that the use of similar packaging is causing any significant consumer detriment or hindering competition or innovation”.

‘British consumers benefit from healthy competition between retailer and manufacturer brands, giving them the choice and affordability they want.’