Percy Pigs is one of M&S's best selling brands and many imitators have tried to cash in on its success. Photo: JAMES DAVEY/REUTERS
When Fabio's Gelato owner Fabio Vincinetti received a letter last month telling him to stop calling his new ice cream flavor «Jolly Pig», he was surprised.
Before paying tribute to Mark & Spencer's Vincineti pink sweets have turned Marmite, Guinness, and Brothers Cider into ice cream flavors without incident. In fact, Marmite retweeted a photo of Vincineti ice cream you can either love or hate.
But for M&S, making Funny Pig hit a sore spot. The launch came just as M&S was launching a campaign against copies of its best-selling products, most commonly Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar.
In a recent legal battle, the company sued British confectionery manufacturer Swizzels in the High Court, alleging that its «Pigs Mugs» sweets, first released in 1996, were «intended to be perceived by a significant portion of the relevant public as mere Percy imitations.» Pigs», which were released in 1992.
The pair reached an agreement earlier this month in which the Swizzels agreed to redesign.
An influx of copycat versions of M& S's products have been released by competing supermarkets and brands over the years — moves that Julia Catton, the mastermind behind the Percy Pigs line, calls «lazy.»
«My argument has always been why you can't do something other? There is always room for novelty and consumers want that,” she told the Telegraph.
M&S does not accept a prone attack. The retailer is beefing up protection for its brands as chief executive Stuart Machin seeks to revitalize high street stalwarts while boosting apparel and food sales. Early results show that the plan is working.
Food has always been a strong player for M&S, and clothing has been the main focus of management. However, he can't afford to take his eyes off the ball. Actions such as the case against Swizzles are a sign that the company is ready for threats.
Swizzels agreed to redesign his 'Pig Mugs' sweets (R) after M&S sued. Photo: CHP
M&S is more involved in trademark disputes than other supermarkets because it has developed its own brands, which «competing supermarkets are willing to die for,» says a grocery store source.
Own brands with a good reputation A legacy of the fact that M&S only started selling branded products in its grocery stores in 2009.
For decades, the company relied on developing its own unique products that could draw shoppers away from stores stocking big-name brands like those of Heinz and Kellogg. He actively innovated, developing his own brands to attract customers.
«Percy Pig is one of our 'heroic' brands and we own the trademarks to protect it,» Vincineti said in a letter sent to the same day the ice cream went on sale.
“We risk losing these trademarks (and more importantly for us, consumers will no longer be sure that Percy Pig branded products come from M&S) unless we take steps to prevent others from using them without our permission. ”.
Ms. Catton, who started her career as an M&S food designer and was the creator of the Percy Pigs line, says the key is to come up with something new and different.
>< br />“In many supermarkets, everything becomes the same,” says Catton, now a consultant. «They all sell Cadbury's, so the question is how are you different from Waitrose or Tesco.»
She says it annoys her when other supermarkets launch their own versions that look like the famous M&S. symbols.
Protecting your brands has become even more difficult with the expansion of Aldi, which is well known for developing its own products that closely resemble pricier competitors.
M&S accused the German discounter of having exclusive versions of Colin the Caterpillar cake and Christmas glowing gin bottles. M&S reached a settlement with Aldi in the first case and won the second case. Aldi appeals gin decision.
M&S has settled a dispute with Aldi over their Cuthbert Caterpillar cake, which is very looked like Colin's caterpillar.
Competitors claim that the demand for cheaper versions of brands. they deliberately buy the cheapest,” says one grocery store source. If there is demand, «then we'll do a similar one to try and capture some of that market — and I think that's quite reasonable and competitive.»
M&S has also been accused of copying ideas. Last year, the retailer was accused of copying chocolate matches made by a small confectionery firm for Valentine's Day. He eventually became a partner with the company and began selling the company's chocolate matches at the store.
In 2021, a retailer faced criticism over a bacon naan recipe that was compared to Dishoom. He later encouraged Instagram followers to book tables in the restaurant group.
“In retail, there is no such thing as a new idea,” says Ged Futter, a former Asda buyer and now a consultant. “Everyone copies each other. Trends have to come from somewhere.”
At Fabio's Gelato, Vincineti renamed his Jolly Piglet ice cream to Henry Behemoth after a similar sweet created by Lidl. jpg» /> Gelato Fabio was forced to rename his 'Perky Pig' flavored with ice cream Photo: Fabio Vincenti
“The funny thing is that sweets taste just as delicious,” Vincineti says. “And they are much cheaper.
“Usually we make a couple of jars for new flavors of ice cream, and as soon as they sell out, they sell out. But Henry Hippo ice cream is so popular that we now have it permanently.
“We mainly promote Lidl products, when we sell ice cream, everything is beautiful. really smart from Lidl.”
A M&S spokesperson said the company has “a good history of being a leading innovator and for nearly 140 years customers have looked to M&S for unique, original, quality products – designed, built and designed by us in collaboration with our trusted vendors and manufactured to the highest standards.
«A lot of time, passion, creativity, energy and attention to detail… goes into designing, developing and bringing the product to market and building our brand over the years.
«Our customers trust our products because they trust our quality standards and suppliers, so we will always strive to protect our reputation through freshness, quality, innovation and value» .
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