Thatchers sues Aldi in battle over cloudy lemon cider

THATCHERS Cider has become the latest firm to sue supermarket chain Aldi for copying a product with a court claim that Aldi’s Taurus Cloudy Cider Lemon is a rip-off of Thatchers’ Cloudy Lemon Cider.

The family cider firm, based at Sandford, Somerset, has lodged papers with the High Court in London asking for an injunction which stops Aldi from selling its Taurus lemon cider brand, and asking for at least half a million pounds in damages, The Grocer has reported.

Thatchers say the German-owned supermarket has “intentionally mimicked” its cloudy lemon cider, which has been a huge hit since it was launched by the cidermaker a couple of years ago.

In the court papers seen by The Grocer, Thatchers is claiming Aldi has taken “unfair advantage” of its brand reputation.

“The defendant, by its use of the graphics on the Aldi product, seeks to ride on the coattails of the substantial reputation of the trademark in order to benefit from its power of attraction, fame, and/or prestige, and to exploit the marketing effort expended by the claimant,” the court papers say.

Thatchers is claiming consumers could be confused into buying Aldi’s version by mistake, thinking it was Thatchers or is made by Thatchers, because they look so similar, and therefore Thatchers’ reputation could be damaged because when people drink it, it’s not as nice as the real thing.

It is not the first time a major brand has taken Aldi to court for copying its products. Last year, Aldi settled out of court with M&S in a dispute brought by M&S claiming Aldi had copied its caterpillar cakes too closely, and a different version of Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar was back in the stores in June 2021.

Brewery and pub chain BrewDog ended up selling its beers in Aldi after the firm pointed out Aldi’s AntiEstablishment beer product was mimicking BrewDog’s products.

Legal expert Geoff Steward told The Grocer that Thatchers might succeed.

“The interesting part is ‘unfair advantage’,” he said.

“That is where Thatchers could succeed.

“It is unlikely they will be able to prove confusion,” he added.

Neither Thatchers nor Aldi was prepared to comment on the imminent legal battle.