A new trademark dispute has opened up between UK supermarkets, after Waitrose confirmed it had challenged the upcoming ‘Just Essentials by Asda’ range.
The Leeds-headquartered supermarket is soon to launch its new discount grocery range worth a total of £45 million, which will feature 300 discount products, making it the largest of its kind.
It is set to roll out in Asdas from May onwards, and will eventually replace the Asda Price range.
However, Waitrose has confirmed to Grocery Gazette that it is challenging the name ‘Just Essentials by Asda’ due to its similarity to its own Essential Waitrose range. As yet, it has not said if it is considering a full legal challenge.
A Waitrose spokesperson told the publication: “We were surprised to hear that Asda is launching an essentials range as the Essential Waitrose brand has been in use since 2009 and has built up a strong reputation for value, quality and higher welfare standards in that time.
“As we’ve also protected the name as a trade mark, we have raised this with Asda and are awaiting a response.”
A spokesperson for Asda said: “The word ‘essentials’ is a generic and commonly-used term by retailers to describe their value product ranges.”
