THIS is not just a lookalike, it’s an M&S lookalike…
The high court recently ruled that supermarket Aldi infringed copyright by selling LED gin bottles which replicated a range of festive tipples sold by Marks & Spencer.
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The German discounter’s ‘Infusionist’ alcohol featured twinkling lights and gold flakes, strikingly similar to M&S’s original line of ‘light-up’ Christmas gins.
And it’s not the first time there have been legal tussles over tribute products.
Last year M&S accused Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar Cake of ripping off their own edible insect, Colin.
Here, we taste and compare an array of discount supermarket homages to M&S products, and come up with a winner in each case. Everything was bought in store.
M&S Percy Pig fruit gums 170g £1.75 v Lidl Henry Hippo Sweets 200g £1.25
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Price Difference: 50p
Winner: Lidl
PERCY Pig wine gums sell out constantly and have spawned many imitators, but I nearly oinked at how close Lidl’s offering came.
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Despite the cut-price retailer’s contents officially labelled hippos, the animal faces looked remarkably like M&S’s offering – as did the packaging.
Both are made with real fruit juice, it’s hard to taste the difference. Lidl’s bag is larger and cheaper.
M&S Colin the Caterpillar Cake, 625g, £8 v Aldi Cuthbert the Caterpillar Cake, 625g, £4.99
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Price Difference: £3.01
Winner: Aldi
IF imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Colin should be delighted, as Cuthbert is a very faithful copycat.
Both have green boxes, weigh the same, with white chocolate faces, buttercream sponge smothered in milk chocolate and sprinkled with Smartie-style buttons.
Colin is longer and thinner so you’ll get more slices, plus his chocolate layer is thicker and sponge superior.
Cuthbert is more squat and tasted sweeter, with thinner chocolate shell but more cream.
And while Colin is a cake legend, Cuthbert is still tasty – and a great price.
M&S Rocky Road Mini Bites Tub, 210g, £3.50 v Aldi Rocky Road Mini Bites Tub, 220g, £2.19
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Price difference: £1.31
Winner: M&S
M&S gives you fewer mini bites compared to Aldi’s.
Aldi’s bites are larger, more solid, sugar dusted squares made of milk chocolate with marshmallows, biscuity and slightly dry.
The M&S ones are smaller, but contain cherries, puffed rice, oats and sultanas alongside chocolate and marshmallows so are chewier.
Aldi wins on value but I preferred the taste of the M&S morsels.
M&S Chocolate Sponge Pudding (x2 105g), 210g, £2.75 M&S v Aldi Chocolate Sponge Pudding (x2 100g), 200g, £1.89
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Price Difference: 86p
Winner: M&S
THE sponge puds of M&S are legendary and these delicious choc pots don’t disappoint.
Super-moist, mouthwatering sponge, and with a gooey liquid chocolate topping.
Aldi’s tribute pots are tasty too but more dry, and the addition of fudge pieces made them too sickly sweet for me.
I’d happily spend a little more to have the M&S original. Far tastier, and the pots are larger too making the price difference more negligible.
M&S Strawberry and Clotted Cream Sponge Roll, 245g, £2 v Lidl Strawberry and Clotted Cream Swiss Roll, 275g, £1.39
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Price Difference: 61p
Winner: M&S
THEIR packaging differs but the cakes are surprisingly alike. Both had yummy sponges filled with lip-smacking cream and delicious jam.
Lidl’s is bigger and cheaper, but M&S’s steeper price makes sense as it contains real Cornish clotted cream and more jam, while Lidl’s filling is a clotted cream-flavoured buttercream.
Lidl’s is also dusted with icing sugar when it needed no extra sweetness.
M&S Buffalo Mozzarella Woodfired Pizza, 449g, £6.25 v Lidl Buffalo Mozzarella Woodfired Pizza, 476g, £3.99
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Price Difference: £2.26
Winner: Lidl
ALIKE in ingredients and packaging these two woodfired, sourdough pizzas are so similar.
M&S’s Italian feast is a little larger and tasted great, with top-quality buffalo mozzarella, sweet tomato and nice fresh basil.
The base was a bit soggier than I expected though.
Lidl’s version has less posh cheese but had tangy sun-dried tomatoes.
I also preferred its crispy and chewy authentic sourdough, as well as the saving of more than £2.
M&S Gin and Tonic Can, 250ml, £2.25 M&S v Aldi Gin & Tonic Can, 250ml, 89p, Aldi
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Price Difference: £1.36
Winner: Aldi
G&T in a tin is an eponymous M&S tipple and this famous green can hits the single-serving spot.
With a generous two measures of gin plus extra dry tonic and at 8% abv with two units of alcohol, there’s not much too dislike, except the high price.
Aldi’s offering is uncannily similar on the shelf, but the booze contents vary.
Aldi’s can doesn’t state an exact gin measure but has 5% alcohol and just 1.3 units.
Both over ice are good so I’d opt for Aldi to save cash.
M&S Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni ready meal, 400g, £3.50 M&S v Aldi Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni ready meal, 400g, £2.49
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Price difference: 99p
Winner: Aldi
THERE’S more than a passing resemblance between the packaging and labelling of these two meals, which, despite some colour variations, look similar on the shelf.
Contents wise, they look and taste fairly equal, each featuring two stuffed cannelloni and a creamy sauce.
Aldi’s version contains a fraction more tomato while M&S’s has more spinach and better bite to the pasta, but the main difference comes down to price.
