Sydney-based baby food brand Little Bellies has achieved a significant legal victory, becoming the first company in Australia to win a copyright infringement case against supermarket giant Aldi.
The court found that Aldi had copied Little Bellies’ designs and packaging for its organic and vegetable puff snacks, marking a landmark ruling in the Australian legal landscape.
Founded in 2007 by brothers Clive and Steven Sher, Little Bellies was born out of a personal need. One of the founders’ children was diagnosed with severe food sensitivities, making it difficult to find safe and suitable snack options.
The brand has since expanded, selling its products not only in Australia and New Zealand but also in markets across the US, Canada, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and South Africa.
The intellectual property for Little Bellies, as well as other snack ranges like Baby Bellies and Mighty Bellies, is owned by Hampden Holdings IP.
The company alleged that Aldi had copied its Organic Blueberry Puffs, Organic Apple & Cinnamon Puffs, and Organic Carrot Puffs packaging since August 2021.
During the trial, Aldi admitted that it had selected Little Bellies as the benchmark for designing its private label packaging for baby snacks.
“The design process for our private label packaging was to select a leading brand as the benchmark to reference,” Aldi stated. “In the case of our baby-snacking portfolio, Little Bellies was the benchmark we aimed to meet.”
After a protracted legal battle, Little Bellies emerged victorious, with founder Clive Sher calling the case a “true David vs Goliath story.”
He added, “Three years ago, we launched proceedings. We incurred significant costs, had to commit to many hours of preparation under immense pressure. This is a landmark court case for Australia.”
The legal victory also places Little Bellies in the spotlight at a time when other companies are pursuing legal action against Aldi.
UK-based beverage maker Thatchers Cider is currently involved in a legal battle with the retailer over its cloudy lemon cider trademark. Although the High Court in London dismissed the case, Thatchers has decided to appeal the ruling.
Aldi is no stranger to legal challenges. In 2001, the supermarket chain was sued by US snack giant Frito-Lay over its Cheezy Twists, which allegedly infringed on the Twisties trademark. Although Frito-Lay won the initial case, Aldi successfully appealed and had the decision overturned.
In 2015, Israeli cosmetics brand Moroccanoil also took Aldi to court over alleged trademark violations involving its Moroccan Argan Oil hair care range, but the company lost both the initial case and its appeal.
In the most recent case, Justice Moshinsky ruled that Aldi intentionally designed packaging for its Mamia baby puffs products to closely resemble Little Bellies’ packaging.
The judge described Aldi’s actions as a deliberate attempt to capitalize on the designs created by its competitor.
“Aldi sought to use for its own commercial advantage the designs that had been developed by a trade rival. Although Aldi may have intended, if possible, to avoid infringement and legal liability, it took the risk that its use of the Bellies designs would exceed what the law allows,” Justice Moshinsky said.
“I consider Aldi’s conduct to be flagrant.” he said.
As part of the ruling, Little Bellies was awarded additional punitive damages in recognition of Aldi’s willful infringement of its intellectual property rights.
