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Oreo maker Mondelez sues Aldi, alleging
grocery chain copies its packaging to confuse customers
[May 31, 2025]
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
Snack food
maker Mondelez International is suing the Aldi supermarket chain,
alleging the packaging for Aldi's store-brand cookies and crackers
“blatantly copies” Mondelez products like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and
Oreos. |
This combo of images shows, top row from left, Mondelez's products
Nutter Butter, Chips Ahoy! and Oreo cookies; bottom row from left, shows
Aldi’s products, Peanut Butter Creme, Chocolate Chip Cookies and
Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla Filing, Thursday, May
29, 2025, in Glenview, Ill. (AP Photos/Nam Y. Huh) |
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In
a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Illinois, Chicago-based
Mondelez said Aldi’s packaging was “likely to deceive and
confuse customers” and threatened to irreparably harm Mondelez
and its brands. The company is seeking monetary damages and a
court order that would stop Aldi from selling products that
infringe on its trademarks.
Aldi didn't respond to messages seeking comment. The U.S. branch
of Aldi, which is based in Batavia, Illinois, was named in the
lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Mondelez displayed side-by-side photos of
multiple products. Aldi’s Thin Wheat crackers, for example, come
in a gold box very similar to Mondelez's Wheat Thins. Aldi’s
chocolate sandwich cookies and Oreos both have blue packaging.
The supermarket's Golden Round crackers and Mondelez’s Ritz
crackers are packaged in red boxes.
Aldi, which was founded in Germany, keeps prices low by
primarily selling products under its own labels. It's one of the
fastest-growing grocery chains in the U.S., with more than 2,500
stores in 39 states. On Friday, the company announced that its
current chief operating officer, Atty McGrath, would become
Aldi's U.S. CEO on Sept. 1.
The chain has faced lawsuits over its packaging before. Last
year, an Australian court found that Aldi infringed on the
copyright of Baby Bellies snack puffs for young children. In
that case, Aldi's packaging featured a cartoon owl and similar
colors to the name-brand packaging.
Earlier this year, a U.K. appeals court ruled in favor of
Thatchers, a cider company, which sued Aldi over design
similarities in the packaging of its lemon cider.
Mondelez said in its lawsuit that the company had contacted Aldi
on numerous occasions about “confusingly similar packaging.”
Mondelez said Aldi discontinued or changed the packaging on some
items but continued to sell others.
The lawsuit also alleges that Aldi infringed on Mondalez's trade
dress rights for the packaging of Nutter Butter and Nilla Wafers
cookies, and its Premium cracker brand.
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