retailers are confusing shoppers for buying ownbrand products that "borrow" rudiments from the packaging of established and market leading competitors, according to a watchdog. a fifth of which members mentioned that they had accidentally purchased a supermarket version of a favourite brand at least once. about 60 of those also mentioned that the mistake left them feeling misled or annoyed. the group of consumers found above 150 ownlabel products had copied the packaging of products such as kellogg&39s coco pops, simple cleanser and wipes, mcvitie&39s digestives, jacob&39s cream crackers and radox bath gel. which further said that, in most major supermarkets, lurpak butter seemed to have "an identifiable ownlabel imitator". morrisons, asda, aldi, lidl, sainsbury&39s, boots, tesco and superdrug were named for stocking such items. products with ownlabel, which are cheaper than the branded ones, are becoming more accepted among shoppers who are currently struggling with rising food prices and tightened finances, as per the outcomes of a separate research done by the group. its analysis on ownbrand packaging found that 18 of its members had intentionally bought an ownlabel product as it looked like the branded counterpart, with 60 of these buyers doing the same because it was less expensive and 59 wanted them to try to see if it was as good. however, when confused with by the packaging, consumers looked upon ownbrand products less satisfactorily, with 38 of those who purchased such a product accidentally saying it infuriated them and 30 saying that they felt misled. john noble, who is british brands group director, mentioned that their research indicates that consumers are more likely to purchase ownlabel products if they seem like brands. he further added that brands survive only by standing out and being distinctive, and sellers are freeriding on reputations of brands. in the uk, currently there is little scope to stop an opponent packaging its product to appear like a familiar brand, whether or not the performance of the product is in any way similar. according to him, that can&39t be fine if they want a market where shoppers can make informed decisions without wasting time. boots mentioned that, with certain active ingredients, colours could be identical and helped consumers to find the correct product. on the other hand, superdrug, aldi and morrisons all said retailers used the same colours as branded products to help customers find products quickly. a which spokeswoman mentioned that ownbrand products can offer good value and many have obtained a top rank in their tests to become best buys. however, it is necessary for retailers to make sure that people are under no illusions regarding what they are purchasing and not leave so many buyers feeling that they have been misinformed. source of information httpnews.sky.comstory1077027shoppersmisledbycopycatpackaging
