A row between two multi-million-euro yoghurt brands has reached the Court of Appeal, with one company accused of planning to “pass off” its yoghurt as that of its international rival when it hits the Irish market, writes Helen Bruce.

Yoplait complained to Court of Appeal judge Niamh Hyland that Danone’s Skyr products were “confusingly similar” to its own, with both packaged in blue and white containers and carrying mountain imagery.

The judge upheld an injunction won by Yoplait Ireland Ltd, preventing Danone from launching its product here through its Irish subsidiary Nutricia Ireland Ltd.

However, she said Yoplait must quickly move to a full trial of the dispute, to prevent Danone from being unfairly denied the chance to enter the market for too long, should it successfully defend the claim.

“I am conscious that Danone is being denied entry to a market that, on its case, it is fully entitled to enter.

“If it transpires that it is correct, competition will have been stifled,” she said.

Nutricia had appealed the injunction granted in May by the High Court.

It restrained Danone from passing off its Skyr yoghurt products as those of Yoplait, pending the trial of the full case.

Judge Hyland noted Skyr yoghurts are made using a traditional Icelandic recipe and are low in fat and high in protein.

She said Danone failed to convince her there was any material error in the way High Court judge Max Barrett had assessed the similarity of the products, and the risk of confusion to a consumer.

She added that there was also no material error in his conclusion that the relevant customer to be considered was one shopping in Ireland for Skyr yoghurt.

The judge noted Yoplait Ireland Ltd had launched its Skyr range in September 2022, with the blue and white mountain design.

She added that Yoplait said its Skyr products were leading the Irish market, with sales of over 430,000 units of the 850g product sold in 2024, supported by marketing investment of over €1.3m.

Danone first launched its Skyr products, including yoghurt, with blue and white packaging, in France and Romania in 2018.

Danone introduced redesigned Skyr packaging in Belgium and Italy in October 2024.

It announced a launch of those products in the UK in 2025.

Danone intended to launch its Skyr products in Ireland on May 6, 2025, using the redesigned packaging Yoplait alleges closely resembles its own, the judge said.

Yoplait wrote to Danone in March, complaining the products were confusingly similar.

Danone denied the claim, the judge said, saying its packaging was consistent with its established branding and trademark.

The case will be mentioned again in October at the Commercial Court.