Supermarket chain Aldi has been accused of copying a frozen cheesecake product by dessert brand Pleese. According to the managing director of Pleese, Joe Moruzzi, Aldi has released a product that uses almost identical name, slogan and flavours as his company’s product. Moruzzi adds that the name Freezecakes and its slogan “It’s not ice cream” were trademarked. An Aldi spokesperson responded, stating that the company goes to great lengths to ensure that all its own exclusive Aldi brand products meet strict copyright requirements.
The product in question, Freezecakes, is a scoopable frozen cheesecake in a tub made from 40% cream cheese with flavoured sauces and biscuit pieces. It is available in Co-op, Waitrose and Consort Frozen Foods. Pleese is based in Redhill, Surrey and currently employs just five people. Mr Moruzzi says that he was aware that someone would try to copy his product at some point, but he feels violated because the company is small.
In 2022, Marks & Spencer and Aldi reached a settlement over a trademark dispute concerning caterpillar cakes. M&S accused German discounter of copying its Colin the Caterpillar cake through its own Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake. Shortly after, Aldi was also engaged in a legal dispute with M&S over bottles of gin that light up. Aldi is the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, with 1,000 stores and 45,000 employees.
As for the current product dispute, Mr Moruzzi is trying to find positives and build awareness of the product category. He adds that he’s disheartened that Aldi has copied his product, given how hard he and his company have worked to bring it to market
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