The long running case between Kraft Heinz and Bega Cheese over the trade dress used on peanut butter products has ended with the High Court of Australia ruling Bega has the right to use the current packaging of its smooth and crunchy peanut butter products.
Bega Foods executive general manager said the company was “extremely pleased”.
HCA dismissed Kraft Heinz’s Application for Special Leave to appeal to the High Court, which meant the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia handed down in April would stand.
The clash began in 2017 when Bega purchased the Kraft factory from Mondēlez International. As Bega took over the brand, it “slightly refreshed” the packaging as well as adding its logo. At the time Bega said the contents were the same and used “the same recipe, had the same taste, and was made by the same people, at the same factory.
Back in 2017, then CEO of Kraft Heinz Australia Bruno Lino said the company had plans to re-enter the peanut butter market in Australia in 2018 and it had always been the intention to continue Kraft products in Australia. “A series of historical corporate decisions saw the brand licensed to an external company for a limited period of time under strict conditions,” he said.
A Bega Cheese spokesperson said the company had purchased the original 'never oily, never dry' recipe, as well as the Victorian factory where the former Kraft Peanut Butter was made for 55 years.
