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6 Copycat Snacks That Landed Aldi In Legal Trouble And 7 More That Could Be Next
6 Copycat Snacks That Landed Aldi In Legal Trouble And 7 More That Could Be Next

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Business
  • Yahoo

6 Copycat Snacks That Landed Aldi In Legal Trouble And 7 More That Could Be Next

Speaking as a self-declared snack connoisseur, Aldi is one of the best in the game for tasty treats. The chain -- which was founded in Germany in the 1960s but has since ballooned into a global operation -- has made its name with a stellar lineup of affordable food and drink, declaring itself the world's first discount grocery store. While it may not be the only chain in the game today, its proclivity for wallet-friendly products is still going strong more than 60 years after its debut. Over the decades, a significant portion of said wallet-friendly products have surged in popularity for their similarity to more expensive branded products. Part of Aldi's allure is the fact that you can secure a basket of dupes for your favorite food items for a fraction of the cost. While Aldi's skill for replicating these products has gone down a treat with customers, the brands that have inspired several of its products often don't share the same enthusiasm. Aldi typically pokes fun at its reputation for copycat products on social media, but this reputation has actually led to some not-so-funny consequences in the past. Some companies have taken legal action against the chain for ripping off their products -- and considering how many other dupes you can currently find on its shelves, we wouldn't be surprised if more do so in the future. Here are the items that have sparked some of Aldi's biggest legal disputes to date (and those we fear may cause more trouble in the future). Read more: 7 Must-Buy Aldi Items For First-Time Customers Aldi certainly isn't the only store to try its hand at knockoff Oreos. Sandwich cookies composed of two chocolate wafers and a vanilla creme filling can be found in the aisles of Walmart, Kroger, Trader Joe's, and more. In May 2025, however, Mondelēz International -- the company behind the iconic sweet treat -- filed a lawsuit against Aldi in the U.S. over claims that it was intentionally trying to deceive customers by copying the famous Oreo packaging for its Benton's Original Chocolate Sandwich Creme Cookies. Oreo wasn't the only cookie brand listed in the lawsuit. Wheat Thins, Nutter Butter, Chips Ahoy!, and Ritz were all mentioned in the filing, with Mondelēz showing images of the first two cookies next to the Aldi copycats to demonstrate the similarity in their packaging. Mondelēz also claimed that it had reached out to Aldi to try to resolve the issue multiple times before deciding to take legal action, despite the company previously resolving complaints over products similar to its Tate's Bake Shop cookies, Teddy Grahams, and more. This lawsuit is still ongoing at the time of writing, with Mondelēz pursuing a court order to prevent Aldi from selling the named products. Watch this space. Clancy's Kettle Chips come in a range of flavors, including jalapeño and sea salt and vinegar. The version sold by Kettle Brands -- which has offered its trademark thick-cut chips since the 1970s -- comes in a range of flavors, including jalapeño and sea salt and vinegar. The two use similar fonts, with an iconic bold K at the front of "Kettle" on both products. They're also both very tasty (although some Aldi super fans claim that its private label is the superior chips brand in every sense). The influence of Kettle Brands on Clancy's Kettle Chips is pretty tough to deny, but it's worth noting that Aldi isn't the only store to take its cues from Kettle Brands products. Lay's also offers a line of kettle chips that isn't totally dissimilar to the latter's products, as does Herr's. Clancy's, however, undeniably features one of the strongest visual resemblances. While it has definitely popularized kettle chips in general, it's worth noting that Kettle Brands didn't invent the concept, cooking method, or even the term kettle chips. But with other brands taking legal action against Aldi over aesthetic similarities in the past, it's not totally beyond the realm of possibility that Clancy's Kettle Chips could cause issues in the future. In December 2024, an Australian brand named Little Bellies was victorious in its legal fight against Aldi. Specializing in children's snacks, the brand had previously taken action against Aldi in 2021, after the latter launched a line of blueberry-flavored corn puffs known as Mamia Organic Baby Puffs that looked suspiciously similar to its Baby Bellies Organic Blueberry Puffs. Like the original snack, Aldi's version included an illustration of a smiling bird over corn puffs and blueberries. The lawsuit also claimed that Aldi had previously instructed a design agency to use Little Bellies products as a reference when redesigning the packaging for products in its Mamia line. A court ultimately ruled in Little Bellies' favor, coming to the conclusion that Aldi had deliberately tried to replicate the aesthetic of the copycat product. Federal court justice Mark Moshinsky claimed that "Aldi sought to use for its own commercial advantage the designs that had been developed by a trade rival," and that the company was liable for damages (via the Federal Court of Australia). Today, Mamia Organic Baby Puffs Blueberry are sold in packaging that instead utilizes an illustrated blueberry. Other brands have been ripping off Pop-Tarts since the dawn of, well, Pop-Tarts. Even the identity of the genius who invented Pop-Tarts has proven contentious in the past, with the company claiming that Kellogg's chairman William E. LaMothe came up with the idea and had "Doc" Joe Thompson perfect the creation. Meanwhile, William Post -- who was the manager of a Keebler Foods plant in Grand Rapids at the time of the Pop-Tart's birth -- insisted that he was recruited to come up with the snack. Point being, the Pop-Tart has been a hotly debated creation since the start, which is why we're keeping an eye on Aldi's take on the saccharine treat. Aldi's line of Pop-Tart-esque products is known as Millville Toaster Tarts. While they don't feature quite as many weird and wonderful flavors as actual Pop-Tarts, there is some overlap, such as strawberry and frosted brown sugar cinnamon. While Kroger has Toaster Treats and Walmart has its Great Value Toaster Pastries, neither is quite as overtly influenced by Pop-Tarts in its design. Millville Toaster Tarts feature similar color schemes (a blue background with bold white writing), an equally bold font, and even arrange the toaster pastries featured on each box in a similar manner. From 2022, Aldi was embroiled in a three-year-long legal battle over its Taurus Cloudy Lemon Cider. The dispute took place in the U.K., where Aldi was accused of ripping off Thatcher's Cloudy Lemon Cider. Unlike the U.S., where it typically does not contain alcohol, the term "cider" almost always denotes an alcoholic beverage to British customers. Both Thatcher's and Aldi were retailing sweet, lemon-flavored ciders, which not only tasted similar but were wrapped in extremely similar packaging. While Thatcher's case was initially dismissed in 2024, the company filed -- and subsequently won -- an appeal in January 2025. According to the BBC, Lord Justice Arnold concluded that Aldi intentionally tried to evoke Thatcher's aesthetic to sell more products, claiming, "The inescapable conclusion is that Aldi intended the sign to remind consumers of the trademark. This can only have been in order to convey the message that the Aldi product was like the Thatchers product, only cheaper." While Aldi confirmed that it planned to appeal, product images for the cider have since been removed from its U.K. website. Aldi's line of Clancy's potato chips is clearly inspired by a string of several iconic brands, but few as much as Stackerz. Its iconic tube of stackable chips is more than slightly reminiscent of the packaging used for Pringles, down to the use of a moustached mascot. Once again, Aldi is far from the only brand to try to recreate the mammoth success of Pringles, which is today owned by Kellanova. Back in 2017, a much more direct Pringles knockoff known as Prongles was sold at Target as a publicity stunt by the same company behind the game Cards Against Humanity. Walmart and Lay's both sell their own interpretations of the same style of potato chip (even though technically, Pringles don't count as potato chips). While legal action has never been taken over Aldi drawing heavy inspiration from the Pringles product, the resemblance between the two is uncanny. One difference that works in Aldi's favor, however, is the fact that some customers actually think Clancy's Stackerz taste better due to their thickness and stronger flavor. Caterpillar cakes are a pillar of British childhood. Quirky though it may seem to someone who didn't grow up in the U.K., these insect-shaped cakes are a staple of birthday celebrations, office parties, Christmas festivities, and even weddings. The original -- Colin the Caterpillar -- is a chocolate and candy-coated chocolate Swiss roll cake created by British chain Marks & Spencer in 1990, but he has since been joined by a small army of larvae rivals, including Sainsbury's Wiggles the Caterpillar, Tesco's Slinky Caterpillar, Morrisons' Morris the Caterpillar, and of course, Aldi's Cuthbert the Caterpillar. The latter hit a little too close to home for Marks & Spencer in 2021, when it sued Aldi over its cheaper but otherwise pretty much identical caterpillar cake. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Aldi continued to make light of Cuthbert's similarity to Colin on social media, kicking off a passionate #FreeCuthbert campaign as the cake was temporarily pulled from stores. This legal dispute has a somewhat happy ending as the two companies eventually cut a confidential deal in early 2022, with Aldi announcing Cuthbert's impending return on Facebook. "Getting out early on good behaviour," it wrote. "Keep an eye out for Cuthy B this Spring." To mark the occasion, Forbes reported that Aldi erected billboards bearing phrases such as "Aisle be back" and "Made by bakers. Approved by lawyers." For anyone concerned about Cuthbert's status today, we can confirm that he's still going strong in Aldi stores across the U.K. Available in flavors such as birthday cake and brownie, Fiber One bars are a popular and tasty choice for anyone trying to boost their fiber intake. The same is true of Millville Fiber Now bars, which also combine the convenience of a pre-packaged cake bar with the nutritional benefits of a quick, low-calorie dose of fiber. Those attributes alone are enough to raise suspicion about where Aldi got the inspiration for the product. It also doesn't help that both products bear similar packaging, with the primary difference being that boxes of Fiber One bars feature a supersized "90" to brag about the fact they contain just 90 calories, while Millville Fiber Now bars feature a "70" (because of course Aldi had to outdo the original and slash the calorie count). The good news for Aldi is that General Mills, which owns Fiber One, hasn't cracked down on the similarities -- at least not yet. Customers, however, have lashed out at the chain in recent months over theories that Aldi changed its Millville Fiber Now recipe for the worse, with the updated bars lacking in both flavor and moisture. Yogurt was the topic at hand for Aldi in 2018 when a brand called The Collective made its feelings known about the chain's copycat tendencies. The brand -- which specializes in gourmet Greek-style yogurts heaped with fruity or fudgy toppings -- threatened the chain with legal action after it launched a line of similar-looking products under its Moo! Gourmet Yogurt line. The Collective co-founder Amelia Harvey shared the brand's frustration with The Sun, saying, "We've always been up for healthy competition, but we're confused why a successful brand like Aldi doesn't market these ranges under their strong own label brand, rather than deliberately imitating others and causing confusion amongst shoppers." While it doesn't seem like The Collective ever actually took legal action, the situation was still serious enough to warrant going to the press over the discontent. Notably, Aldi pulled the line of yogurts in question from its stores just months later. Aldi strikes again with its Clancy's White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn. If its black and yellow packaging looks a little familiar, that's probably because you're used to seeing Smartfood White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn -- a product that relies on the same flavor profile and extremely similar design choices. Nothing has ever come of the likenesses between the two products. However, it does seem like Aldi has eaten into Smartfood's customer base with Clancy's White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn, as fans have claimed that it offers a stronger cheesy flavor and tastes less greasy than its pricier counterpart. It probably doesn't hurt matters that some customers feel like Smartfood has switched up the recipe for its popcorn in recent years -- and not in a good way. While Smartfood once arguably boasted the best cheddar popcorn on the market, some of the most common complaints are that the cheddar flavor simply isn't as sharp as it once was, with cheddar now falling further down the ingredients list than it did in times gone by. In 2018, around the same time that yogurt brand The Collective accused Aldi of ripping off its products, a British sausage company called Heck started making noise about the same issue. This time, Aldi's Ashfield Farm Chicken Chipolatas lay at the heart of the drama, with Heck claiming that the packaging bore an extremely similar color scheme to its own Heck Chicken Italia Sausages. Andrew Keeble, founder of Heck, reportedly sent Aldi a letter asking the chain to axe the product, which was sold in its U.K. stores. He claimed to have received a threatening response that led him to consider taking the company to court. Aldi also insisted that it had used similar branding for its Ashfield Farm line for 15 years. The dispute may have never escalated to an actual court case, but Aldi did subsequently rebrand its Ashfield Farm Chicken Chipolatas, which today feature a cyan blue design, complete with the Union Jack. It doesn't take long to spot the similarities between Benton's Fudge Striped Shortbread Cookies and their Keebler counterpart. With yellow and brown packaging that contains ring-shaped, fudge-striped cookies, these sweet treats are closer to twins than sisters. Despite the strong resemblance between the two, Aldi has never been formally called out by Keebler or its parent company, Ferrero. It has, however, been called out by customers for creating near-identical dupes for Keebler Fudge Stripes. Fans have noted that Benton's Fudge Striped Shortbread Cookies are a similar size to the latter, with the exact same taste. In fact, some even claim that they taste better and less artificial, despite costing less. Other cookies in the Benton's range reportedly come up just as strong against similar products. Just like Walmart, Aldi offers several copycat Girl Scout cookies, with Benton's Mint Striped Fudge Cookies often compared to Girl Scout Thin Mints and Benton's Caramel Coconut Fudge Cookies tasting an awful lot like Girl Scout Samoas. Aldi sells a long list of cereal products under its Millville brand, plenty of which enter uncanny valley with their similarity to major brands such as Kellogg's and Quaker Oats. Perhaps the most obvious dupe of the bunch is Millville Fruit Rounds -- a kid-oriented, colorful, ring-shaped cereal with a parrot emblazoned on its packaging. Considering the fact that we could have written that exact same description about Froot Loops, you can probably see where this is going. While Aldi may deign to spell fruit properly in its cereal name, there's no denying where it got the inspiration. Yes, Fruit Rounds are accompanied by a green parrot, not a blue parrot, but if the only real difference between two products is the hue of their animal mascots, then you know you've got a problem. At least, theoretically. Aldi has sold its Fruit Rounds for years without consequence from Kellogg's. Some customers even prefer Aldi's lookalike cereal due to the fact that it's naturally flavored and doesn't contain a long list of colors like Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, or Yellow 6 like Froot Loops. This may just be one instance where a dupe has truly improved upon the original -- so long as Kellogg's lets it go unchecked. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.

16 billion Apple, Facebook, Google passwords exposed in historic data leak: report
16 billion Apple, Facebook, Google passwords exposed in historic data leak: report

News.com.au

time3 hours ago

  • News.com.au

16 billion Apple, Facebook, Google passwords exposed in historic data leak: report

A staggering 16 billion passwords to Apple, Facebook, Google, and various US government services have been leaked online, triggering global security alerts in what experts are calling the most significant data breach in history. The mammoth security breach has forced Google to urge billions of users to change their passwords immediately. At the same time, the FBI has issued warnings to Americans about opening suspicious links in SMS messages. Cybersecurity experts at Cybernews, who investigated the breach, discovered a whopping 30 exposed datasets containing between tens of millions and over 3.5 billion records each. Perhaps most alarmingly, researchers confirmed that nearly all these exposed datasets contain previously unreported information, making this an entirely fresh security crisis. 'This is not just a leak – it's a blueprint for mass exploitation,' the researchers said via Forbes this week. The leaked information mainly consists of URLs paired with login credentials and passwords, potentially giving hackers access to 'pretty much any online service imaginable, from Apple, Facebook, and Google, to GitHub, Telegram, and various government services.' The datasets appeared online only briefly – long enough to be discovered but too quickly for researchers to identify who controlled the data. 'These aren't just old breaches being recycled,' researchers said. 'This is fresh, weaponisable intelligence at scale.' Cybernews investigators believe the breach is the work of multiple 'infostealers' – malicious programs designed to harvest credentials from infected devices. While the total number of affected people is unclear, security experts are strongly advising the public to take immediate precautions. Users are being urged to invest in password management solutions, never share passwords across multiple platforms, and remain vigilant for signs their accounts may have been compromised. Investigators also warn this breach could fuel phishing attacks and account takeovers in the coming months.

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