Tesco alters cereal packs to settle row

Tesco is selling redesigned boxes of its own-label cereals nearly nine months after it was first accused of copying Kellogg brand packaging.

The move is the culmination of talks between the two companies, after the Tesco packaging soured relations.

Friction arose in July when Tesco started using Kellogg’s rival Cereal Partners (owned by Nestlé and General Mills) to supply its own-label cereals, and relaunched its brands with an aggressive marketing campaign, which included heavy in-store promotion.

Tesco Corn Flakes, Honey Nut cornflakes and Frosted Flakes were relaunched in boxes described by many as a blatant copy of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Crunchy Nut cornflakes and Frosties (MW August 16 1996).

Now the original boxes are no longer on sale. The new boxes have a more prominent use of white and a Kellogg-style red banner behind the product name has been removed. But while a number of points of the design have been tweaked, all the important elements remain.

Neither company will say if the changes has pre-empted any court action, or if a cash settlement has been made.

Media Analysis, page 14