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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/11/chocolate-wars-waitrose-faces-copycat-claim-from-hotel-chocolat
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| Chocolate wars: Waitrose faces copycat claim from Hotel Chocolat | Chocolate wars: Waitrose faces copycat claim from Hotel Chocolat |
| (7 months later) | |
| Waitrose is battling allegations of chocolate plagiarism in a hot-tempered dispute between rival factions of posh chocolatiers. | Waitrose is battling allegations of chocolate plagiarism in a hot-tempered dispute between rival factions of posh chocolatiers. |
| The bosses of upmarket Hotel Chocolat have written to the supermarket’s chief executive in fury after it launched a range of bars they claim bear an uncanny resemblance to their own. | The bosses of upmarket Hotel Chocolat have written to the supermarket’s chief executive in fury after it launched a range of bars they claim bear an uncanny resemblance to their own. |
| Not tickled pink: wine experts warn of rosé drought for UK fans | |
| The firm has won backing from fellow independent chocolatier Choc on Choc, which believes Waitrose’s avocado Easter egg is suspiciously similar to one of its own inventions. | The firm has won backing from fellow independent chocolatier Choc on Choc, which believes Waitrose’s avocado Easter egg is suspiciously similar to one of its own inventions. |
| Hotel Chocolat’s co-founder Angus Thirlwell said eagle-eyed chocoholics first spotted the alleged copycat bars in Waitrose earlier this week and alerted him to the similarity. | Hotel Chocolat’s co-founder Angus Thirlwell said eagle-eyed chocoholics first spotted the alleged copycat bars in Waitrose earlier this week and alerted him to the similarity. |
| “I’m peeling myself off the wall in terms of emotion because it’s one of the first products I designed,” Thirlwell said. | “I’m peeling myself off the wall in terms of emotion because it’s one of the first products I designed,” Thirlwell said. |
| “They’re running adverts like it’s some amazing piece of creativity and you just think: ‘Hang on, this is a complete rip-off.’ It’s got to stop.” | “They’re running adverts like it’s some amazing piece of creativity and you just think: ‘Hang on, this is a complete rip-off.’ It’s got to stop.” |
| “We’re hoping that they’ll do the right thing,” he said but also warned that Hotel Chocolat has not ruled out legal action. | “We’re hoping that they’ll do the right thing,” he said but also warned that Hotel Chocolat has not ruled out legal action. |
| “Look at how [engineer James] Dyson has had to fight to protect his ideas over and over again,” he added. “We’re determined to defend our brand.” | “Look at how [engineer James] Dyson has had to fight to protect his ideas over and over again,” he added. “We’re determined to defend our brand.” |
| All the Waitrose bars are roughly the same size as Hotel Chocolat’s and share a distinctive wavy edge that sets them apart from mass-produced bars with straight sides. | All the Waitrose bars are roughly the same size as Hotel Chocolat’s and share a distinctive wavy edge that sets them apart from mass-produced bars with straight sides. |
| One of the Waitrose bars – made of white chocolate with studs of meringue and strawberry pieces and named Eton mess after the famous pudding – is a combination almost identical to Hotel Chocolat’s concoction of the same name. | One of the Waitrose bars – made of white chocolate with studs of meringue and strawberry pieces and named Eton mess after the famous pudding – is a combination almost identical to Hotel Chocolat’s concoction of the same name. |
| Waitrose’s caramel crunch bar also shares several characteristics with Hotel Chocolat’s Caramel & Co offering, while orange and coffee-flavoured iterations echo products that the chocolatier has discontinued. | Waitrose’s caramel crunch bar also shares several characteristics with Hotel Chocolat’s Caramel & Co offering, while orange and coffee-flavoured iterations echo products that the chocolatier has discontinued. |
| Thirlwell said Hotel Chocolat had legal protection for its its curved-edge design from the European Union’s intellectual property office. | Thirlwell said Hotel Chocolat had legal protection for its its curved-edge design from the European Union’s intellectual property office. |
| “It’s inspired by what happens when you pour molten chocolate out onto a chocolatier’s marble table-top because it spreads into a lovely curvy outline,” he said. | “It’s inspired by what happens when you pour molten chocolate out onto a chocolatier’s marble table-top because it spreads into a lovely curvy outline,” he said. |
| Thirlwell initially highlighted the uncanny similarities on Twitter. There he found support from Choc on Choc, which said it had invented a chocolate avocado in 2015, only to see Waitrose subsequently roll out a similar avocado egg for Easter. | Thirlwell initially highlighted the uncanny similarities on Twitter. There he found support from Choc on Choc, which said it had invented a chocolate avocado in 2015, only to see Waitrose subsequently roll out a similar avocado egg for Easter. |
| “We’re coming up with these great concepts but we’re not asked to manufacture them for them [supermarkets]. What happens is that people take the ideas and use them,” the co-founder Flo Broughton said. | “We’re coming up with these great concepts but we’re not asked to manufacture them for them [supermarkets]. What happens is that people take the ideas and use them,” the co-founder Flo Broughton said. |
| “When a larger retailer copies it or does something very similar, people think that we’ve copied them. | “When a larger retailer copies it or does something very similar, people think that we’ve copied them. |
| ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ apparently but hey @waitrose this crosses the line!! As well as breaching our Registered Design Mark, designed to protect innovation. https://t.co/vvXN92auK7 | ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ apparently but hey @waitrose this crosses the line!! As well as breaching our Registered Design Mark, designed to protect innovation. https://t.co/vvXN92auK7 |
| “We didn’t raise our concerns at the time because we’re a supplier to Waitrose and I was too chicken.” | “We didn’t raise our concerns at the time because we’re a supplier to Waitrose and I was too chicken.” |
| A spokesperson for Waitrose said: “We take the intellectual property rights of other businesses extremely seriously and so we are looking into the points made by Mr Thirlwell. | A spokesperson for Waitrose said: “We take the intellectual property rights of other businesses extremely seriously and so we are looking into the points made by Mr Thirlwell. |
| “However, we were only approached about this matter yesterday afternoon and we will, of course, need to consider the issues raised, which we will urgently.” | “However, we were only approached about this matter yesterday afternoon and we will, of course, need to consider the issues raised, which we will urgently.” |
| Thirlwell said there was no comparison between the two products in terms of quality because Hotel Chocolat bars have a much higher cocoa content, whereas the main ingredient in most of the Waitrose bars is sugar. | Thirlwell said there was no comparison between the two products in terms of quality because Hotel Chocolat bars have a much higher cocoa content, whereas the main ingredient in most of the Waitrose bars is sugar. |
| “It’s one thing ripping off the look but it’s another when they’ve been stuffed full of cheap sugar. There’s a difference in taste quality and that’s because sugar is one tenth the price of cocoa,” he said. | “It’s one thing ripping off the look but it’s another when they’ve been stuffed full of cheap sugar. There’s a difference in taste quality and that’s because sugar is one tenth the price of cocoa,” he said. |
| The dispute marks the second time within months that the chocolate world has been hit by allegations of plagiarism. | The dispute marks the second time within months that the chocolate world has been hit by allegations of plagiarism. |
| Poundland and the US confectionery giant Mondelēz ended up in court over allegations that Poundland’s Twin Peaks bar was a rip-off of Toblerone but with two points instead of one. | Poundland and the US confectionery giant Mondelēz ended up in court over allegations that Poundland’s Twin Peaks bar was a rip-off of Toblerone but with two points instead of one. |
| The two sides eventually reached a settlement that allowed Poundland to sell half a million Twin Peaks bars it had already produced, in exchange for changing the shape, which it claimed was inspired by Wrekin and Ercall hills in Shropshire. | The two sides eventually reached a settlement that allowed Poundland to sell half a million Twin Peaks bars it had already produced, in exchange for changing the shape, which it claimed was inspired by Wrekin and Ercall hills in Shropshire. |
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