Source: BizCommunity

The Advertising Regulatory Board has partially upheld a complaint by Rainbow Chicken, ruling that Eskort’s new Kiddos packaging improperly imitates Rainbow Chicken’s Chickees range and could dilute its advertising value. Eskort has been given three months to change the packaging.

In its decision, the ARB found that although Eskort did not copy Rainbow Chicken’s social-media content, the physical packaging of the Kiddos range — including its white punnet, brightly coloured peel-off lid, playful illustrations, and child-centred design — is “too similar” to the Chickees concept.

While the Board said outright consumer confusion between chicken and pork was unlikely, the similarities were strong enough to evoke the Chickees brand and reduce its distinctiveness in a small competitive category.

As a result, the ARB ruled that Eskort’s packaging breaches Clause Nine of the Code of Advertising Practice.

Why Rainbow Chicken complained

Rainbow Chicken argued that Eskort’s Kiddos packaging copied multiple crafted elements from the Chickees brand, which launched in 2023 and has gained strong market presence.

Among the similarities highlighted were:

• Brightly coloured, child-friendly designs,
• cartoon-style characters,
• playful typography,
• the same white ribbed punnets and colourful peel lids, and
• similar visual layouts used in-store.

Both products target children, sit in the same freezer aisles and, in some cases, appear side-by-side in stores — a combination Rainbow Chicken said increased the risk of customers assuming the products were linked.

The company also noted that its products are chicken-based, while Eskort’s are pork-based, raising concerns for consumers who avoid pork for health or religious reasons.

Eskort’s defence

Eskort strongly denied copying its competitor, arguing that the Kiddos range was developed independently and reflects its long-standing brand identity.

It said the use of bright colours, cartoons, and playful themes is standard across children’s food, and that its bold Eskort branding prevents any real confusion.

It also states that:

• It uses a different colour scheme and layout to that used by Rainbow Chicken
• Has a distinct product names and character illustrations developed specifically for Eskort;
• Different fonts and different and distinct food characters to that used by Rainbow Chicken
• A different tone and brand voice, aligned with Eskortʼs established identity; and
• Packaging and product photography that reflect Eskortʼs longstanding visual style.
• Eskort further claimed that the complaint was “commercially motivated” after Rainbow Chicken attempted to halt the Kiddos launch through legal correspondence.

What the ARB accepted and rejected

The ARB agreed that many elements used in kids’ food packaging are generic and cannot be monopolised.

However, it found that when viewed as a whole, the resemblance between Eskort’s packaging and Chickees was too pronounced to be coincidental, particularly given the limited number of competitors in the category.

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