Albert Heijn cleared of mimicking Unilever

29/04/05 In a major victory for private label brands, Dutch retailer Albert Heijn has been effectively cleared of mimicking the packaging of Unilever, in its new range of A-Brands. Albert Heijn was accused of copying 13 products from the food giant, but following a court decision, will now only have to suspend the sale of a peanut butter and margarine product for looking too similar to two branded products from Unilever.

The judge in the court case ruled that Albert Heijn had not acted unlawfully and rejected Unilever's claim that the supermarket chain failed to treat Unilever and its products fairly. The court case was the biggest public spat between the two companies since Albert Heijn pulled 30 of Unilever’s products from its shelves in October 2002 after Unilever refused to meet price cut demands.