IFA v Lidl/Aldi

youllbemine

What will be the outcome of the IFA vs Lidl/Aldi High Court decision?

It looks like the IFA are not happy with these supermarket brands being used to market milk as coming from an imaginary creamery. While those who supply the milk to Aldi and Lidl are furious and feel betrayed by the IFA, threatening to leave. The supermarkets are also coming after the IFA regarding the advertisements the IFA released and are saying that they're defamatory. Will be very interesting to see what comes of this.

Bass Reeves

You have to wonder what the IFA thinking was. They definately did not think of the repocussions. They have left themselves open to bring seen as favouring some milk supplier over other. This when Glanbia are trying to reimpose a peak quota

epfff

I can't figure why they went with this advertisement. There product is Irish. Did 1 of them not sign new contract with Arivo recently also.
Is there more to this than we know about?
It's going to cost the ifa more members unless they are able to explain themselves better than they have so far.

orm0nd

They will all be smiling the whole way to the banks,



The legal teams from both sides, that is, and free advertising for the supermarkets

whelan2

There are so many other avenues they could have gone but this one is ridiculous. Most of the products in aldi or lidl are rip offs of real brands and no problem with them just milk.

mahoney_j

Don’t know what the ifa are at here they are going after liquid suppliers in Arrabawn ,aurivo and Irish strathroy suppliers for the most part .a very targeted attack are they afraid to go after Glanbia who supply Tesco own brand .....can’t upset them
Coops need to be brought in line too they drive these discounted milk prices when they tender for contracts and undercut others just to get volume ,vast majority of customers don’t give a ****e about clonbawn ,clonree etc ...all about price major own goal here by the ifa who are once again splitting hairs on Irish liquid milk suppliers who may also be ifa members

Base price

When I first saw the IFA ad I couldn't figure what their agenda was other than milk cartons not showing the NDC label which I assume is on milk supplied by Strathroy but I stand corrected.
If it is the case then they are shooting themselves in the foot - when it comes to animal diseases (FMD etc) thankfully an all island approach is taken.

laoch na mona

Best case scenario from the IFA lidl and aldi just change the label, no change to prices so a waste of energy,

However now lidl are claiming defamation so the IFA have to foot a legal bill as well.

It was clearly a badly picked fight

MarkR

Not up on all the detail, did Lidl / Aldi have something incorrect on the label? Or is it that the brand name would lead people to believe it was an actual dairy somewhere?

laoch na mona

MarkR wrote: »

Not up on all the detail, did Lidl / Aldi have something incorrect on the label? Or is it that the brand name would lead people to believe it was an actual dairy somewhere?

My understand is whereas tesco dunnes etc own brand is just the shop name aldi/lidl use a made up own brand name ( a bit like st bernards for meat in Dunnes i suppose).


My question is why is that much different than own brand in general

The J Stands for Jay

laoch na mona wrote: »

My understand is whereas tesco dunnes etc own brand is just the shop name aldi/lidl use a made up own brand name ( a bit like st bernards for meat in Dunnes i suppose).


My question is why is that much different than own brand in general

Why does that cause an issue? Pretty much all products in Aldi and Lidl are own brand, so punters going there won't be looking at the brand on the packaging other than checking it's milk.

laoch na mona

McGaggs wrote: »

Why does that cause an issue? Pretty much all products in Aldi and Lidl are own brand, so punters going there won't be looking at the brand on the packaging other than checking it's milk.

your guess is as good as mine, thats what I got from asking on twitter anyway

Tombo2001

Not often I find myself in the Farming forum, but I do think the IFA have a fair point here.

The issue they are raising is where a brand fictitiously indicating a product comes from a family farm or a non-existent dairy.

Its not just milk. Ham, eggs etc.

Connell Farm.
Coolree Dairy
Clonbawn Creamery.
Healy Family Farm Eggs.

None of these places actually exist, except on the label of the product.

Why does this matter? Because there are real family farms trying to sell a product that is being drastically undercut.

laoch na mona

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Not often I find myself in the Farming forum, but I do think the IFA have a fair point here.

The issue they are raising is where a brand fictitiously indicating a product comes from a family farm or a non-existent dairy.

Its not just milk. Ham, eggs etc.

Connell Farm.
Coolree Dairy
Clonbawn Creamery.
Healy Family Farm Eggs.

None of these places actually exist, except on the label of the product.

Why does this matter? Because there are real family farms trying to sell a product that is being drastically undercut.

Aye but the outcome is stick a lidl/aldi label on the product and sell it for the same price, which doesn't do anything for farmers

youllbemine

The MIL was up in arms over Aldi and Lidl selling milk under a made up brand. But I think that's mainly because her husband was county chair and the IFA can do no wrong In her eyes. She'd go along with anything they say. I'd say she wont mention it now lol.

Am I right in thinking that the branding of milk in this way does not result in a reduced price for the farmer?? Grand if the IFA get the brand name changed but this won't mean increased milk prices at the farm gate will it? Which is what should be no. 1 priority from the IFA's point of view.

One question I would like an answer to before being able to comfortably take the MIL on is, are farmers supplying milk that ends up in Avonmore etc branded cartons (milk that costs more to the consumer) being paid anymore than the lads supplying milk that ends up in Coolree Creamery etc milk (Lidl/aldi)?

Something makes me think they're not...stand to be corrected though as I have no evidence to confirm this.

All the branding, advertising and big salaries have to be paid somehow!!

The J Stands for Jay

youllbemine wrote: »

Grand if the IFA get the brand name changed but this won't mean increased milk prices at the farm gate will it?

If Aldi and Lidl's supplier changed their name to match the brand on the cartons, would the problem go away? I don't think so, which is why I'm wondering what the IFA are really up to here.

I have no links to farming, so I've no idea about what things the IFA are working on and the issues being caused to farmers in this matter.

wrangler

youllbemine wrote: »

The MIL was up in arms over Aldi and Lidl selling milk under a made up brand. But I think that's mainly because her husband was county chair and the IFA can do no wrong In her eyes. She'd go along with anything they say. I'd say she wont mention it now lol.

Am I right in thinking that the branding of milk in this way does not result in a reduced price for the farmer?? Grand if the IFA get the brand name changed but this won't mean increased milk prices at the farm gate will it? Which is what should be no. 1 priority from the IFA's point of view.

One question I would like an answer to before being able to comfortably take the MIL on is, are farmers supplying milk that ends up in Avonmore etc branded cartons (milk that costs more to the consumer) being paid anymore than the lads supplying milk that ends up in Coolree Creamery etc milk (Lidl/aldi)?

Something makes me think they're not...stand to be corrected though as I have no evidence to confirm this.

All the branding, advertising and big salaries have to be paid somehow!!

It's hard to believe that a committee of farmers would take an action such as this....... and two other dairy committees would let them

VillageIdiot71

laoch na mona wrote: »

My understand is whereas tesco dunnes etc own brand is just the shop name aldi/lidl use a made up own brand name ( a bit like st bernards for meat in Dunnes i suppose).


My question is why is that much different than own brand in general

Indeed, and also pertinent is the fact made by another poster - which is that most of the stock in Lidl and Aldi are made-up brands; no customer of Lidl expects there's actually a Coolmore Creamery, any more than they expect there's a "Rowan Hill" bakery. It's just how Lidl and Aldi package their own brand stock.

The fake brands are actually a talking point. Like Aldi's "Okey Dokey" crisps looking suspiciously like Hunky Dorys.

IFA are either out of touch or they're suffering badly from lockdown fever.

whelan2

VillageIdiot71 wrote: »

Indeed, and also pertinent is the fact made by another poster - which is that most of the stock in Lidl and Aldi are made-up brands; no customer of Lidl expects there's actually a Coolmore Creamery, any more than they expect there's a "Rowan Hill" bakery. It's just how Lidl and Aldi package their own brand stock.

The fake brands are actually a talking point. Like Aldi's "Okey Dokey" crisps looking suspiciously like Hunky Dorys.

IFA are either out of touch or they're suffering badly from lockdown fever.

The lidl hunky dory equivalent are called howdy doodys

Bleating Lamb

What is the content of IFA ad?

Haven't heard anything about it.....is it on the radio or TV?

alps

wrangler wrote: »

It's hard to believe that a committee of farmers would take an action such as this....... and two other dairy committees would let them

What are the 3 dairy committees?

Base price

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

What is the content of IFA ad?

Haven't heard anything about it.....is it on the radio or TV?

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/lidl-refers-ifa-advertisement-to-its-legal-team-608800

lanod2407

For what it's worth, I would support the idea that shops should not be allowed to brand food with dairies, farms, etc that simply don't exist. There's gotta be a line drawn somewhere and selling with a make-up dairy name is surely crossing a consumer misinformation line.

lanod2407

VillageIdiot71 wrote: »

; no customer of Lidl expects there's actually a Coolmore Creamery, any more than they expect there's a "Rowan Hill" bakery. .

Where are you getting that statement from?
You're making a big assumption about the consumer and what they're entitled to in terms of provenance and accurate information.

80sDiesel

lanod2407 wrote: »

For what it's worth, I would support the idea that shops should not be allowed to brand food with dairies, farms, etc that simply don't exist. There's gotta be a line drawn somewhere and selling with a make-up dairy name is surely crossing a consumer misinformation line.

I would agree. Next it will be Mc Murphys’ beef burgers or o'shaughnessy shaughnessys’ chicken nuggets.

It’s a slippery slope so if you don’t nip it in the bud it can’t be stopped.

thenightman

Is there really a Pat the Baker churning out thousands of loaves of bread each night? Is Henry Denny still slaving away slicing bacon and filling sausages? no, and those brands are actually heavily advertised, unlike Aldi or Lidls own brand stuff which I honestly couldn't even name, and I've shopped solely in aldi for years at this stage.

The majority of people don't give product names in the discounters any thought whatsoever. Deciding factor is price and if the product tastes like what it's supposed to.

tanko

Exactly, "the consumer" couldn't give a damn what it says on the milk carton as long as its dirt cheap.

youllbemine

Can anyone give me a reliable source that says where milk that is sold in various supermarkets is sourced? So who the coop is and the location of the farmers who supply that milk (ireland or UK or europe etc) for own brand Tesco, aldi, lidl, dunnes, avonmore, town of monaghan etc.

I was told tonight that "everyone knows strathroy mix irish milk with milk from the uk and then sell it back to the ROI in the form of Aldi/Lidl Coolree creamery" etc. I find it hard to believe this is the case but again stand to be corrected.

If its Irish milk being supplied to aldi and lidl and the liquid milk producers are all getting paid similar amounts per litre of milk no matter who they supply to then the branding aint the issue. Although I do believe they should just brand it as their own brand as opposed to made up brands.

Or are the IFA using this so that a dirty secret is being revealed and hence why the discount retailers are coming down so hard on this one and getting heavy handed with the law??

The IFA could stand to lose a lot of members over this.

80sDiesel

thenightman wrote: »

The majority of people don't give product names in the discounters any thought whatsoever. Deciding factor is price and if the product tastes like what it's supposed to.

For sure. But if ‘Komeragh mountain lamb’ is a big seller, it’s not only commeragh mountain lamb farmers that lose out but the Irish brand.

whelan2

We get a food package from our secondary school while the kids are off. The milk brand is wholesome farms. Never heard of it before. No ndc logo. Distributed by sysco corporation in limerick. There is a uk / ni stamp on it.

wrangler

alps wrote: »

What are the 3 dairy committees?

Dairy Committee.
Fresh Milk Producers.
Liquid Milk Committee.