the founder of online retailer So Organic has accused Sainbury’s of pinching the name for its recently-rebranded organic category.

Samantha Burlton registered her So Organic website in 2003 and has asked the supermarket giant to pull the branding, following claims of repeated confusion among customers.

“We’ve worked extremely hard to build a good reputation and make a name for ourselves so it’s extremely frustrating and making us very angry,” said Burlton.

But Sainsbury’s has refused to back down, claiming: “We don’t believe customers are getting confused. We use ‘Sainsbury’s So Organic’ as a brand name on food and drink products and this complaint refers to the name of a web-site offering non-food items. There is no overlap.”

Chief executive for the chain, Justin King, announced a 5.7 per cent rise in like-for-like sales last month, claiming the organic range had helped grow market share.

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