Cadbury elbows out purple rival

By Karyn Scherer

An Australian confectionery company has been forced to redesign its packaging after a stoush with chocolate-maker Cadbury over the use of the colour purple.

Cadbury said it had reached an out-of-court settlement with Snow's Confectionery, after threatening legal action.

The New Zealand arm of the chocolate giant took exception last year to Snow's using purple packets for its chocolate toffees, saying it believed the packaging would confuse consumers.

The toffees sell in both Australia and New Zealand.

Cadbury will compensate Snow's for the design changes and has allowed it to run out of existing stocks.

Snow's general manager, Colin Hughes, said he was pleased the companies had been able to reach an amicable settlement.

"At the end of the day, when we sat down and relooked at everything, the colour purple is more of an issue for Cadbury than it is to us."

In Britain, Cadbury has trademarked purple for its products. However, it has only recently lodged applications in Australia and New Zealand.

Cadbury's company secretary, John Crawford, said it was still waiting to hear whether the applications had been successful.

"Because it's a colour and it's different to most devices and word marks, the trademark office is having a closer look at it and taking its time in forming an opinion."