Lidl “pushes boundaries” with new private-label packaging

Last week, Lidl launched new packaging for its Freeway private label soft drinks. Experts say the design does “refer” to Coca-Cola’s very much, but “that is exactly the intention”.

“Fun rebranding”

The slogan “New packaging, same quality” accompanied the new Freeway packaging in Lidl’s Dutch folder last week, and the new bottles have since been spotted in Belgian shops as well. Customers went to social media to point out that they found the similarity to Coca-Cola and Fanta quite striking.

Of course, private labels have been including elements of the original A-brands’ design in their own packaging for a while, but some raise the question whether Lidl is going too far now. The retailer does not think so: “It is a fun rebranding and while it is true that the colours are recognisable for the customer, this is not to the extent that I think it will cause problems”, spokeswoman Isabelle Colbrandt told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. “It is just for the sake of recognisability that we work in line with a certain range.”

“Pushing boundaries”

“This is done deliberately”, retail and brand expert Paul Moers is convinced: “These kinds of supermarkets have been trying to copy A-brands for decades. They are succeeding more and more in terms of flavour. It is therefore logical that they now also want to come as close as possible to the real brand in the style of the packaging. They really push the boundaries with this, until someone stands up and takes the discounter to court”, Moers told Dutch news outlet RTL.

Trademark law expert Katia De Clercq agrees that Coca-Cola could win a court case against Lidl: she says the packaging “very much on the limit. In purely legal terms, this may be problematic within both intellectual property law and legislation around fair market practices.” However, such a lawsuit would bring even more attention to the discounter, so it remains to be seen whether Coca-Cola would indeed take the case to court. “We are currently looking at how we will deal with it”, the soft drink giant stated.