British Weetabix boxes seized by New Zealand customs after complaint by rival Weet-Bix

Food giant Sanitarium complained that customers would get confused with their own cereal, Weet-Bix

Other British stores have complied with Sanitarium’s demands, but the owner of a Christchurch grocery has accused the company of ‘bullying’ her small family business (Reuters)

Hundreds of boxes of Weetabix have been held hostage by New Zealand customs officials following a complaint by rival cereal company Weet-Bix.

Around 300 boxes arrived last week for Christchurch grocers A Little Bit of Britain, but food giant Sanitarium argued that customers would get confused with their own cereal, Weet-Bix.

This week, Sanitarium sent a letter to Lisa Wilson, the co-owner of A Little Bit of Britain, informing her that the cereal will only be released if a sticker is put over the Weetabix label, and she blanked out the name Weetabix when selling it online.

Other British stores have complied with Sanitarium’s demands, but Ms Wilson has accused the company of “bullying” her small family business.

“They [Sanitarium] walk in and slap an agreement down and it is quite daunting for a very small business ... they are trying to bully the small guys,” Ms Wilson told The Guardian.

“They are trying to force us to do what they want because they are a multimillion-dollar company, but we are not willing to bow to Sanitarium’s demands as we don’t believe there is a case of trademark infringement here and we are standing up for that principle.”

Ms Wilson said her grocery store sold about seven boxes of Weetabix a day, mainly to British expats. She said the look and taste of Weet-Bix and Weetabix were sufficiently distinct that customers would not get confused.

“I don’t feel we should have to cover the word up because they are different words and different customers, and the boxes look nothing alike,” she said. “They taste different as well. Brits who have grown up on Weetabix like it but Kiwis prefer their Weet-Bix. It isn’t a competition.”

Sanitarium said its Weet-Bix brand was protected by international law and is often prevented from being sold in other global markets due to the Weetabix trademark.

The row has sparked an angry reaction on social media from British expats and New Zealanders alike, with some saying that they will boycott Sanitarium’s products. The hashtag #freetheweetabix is trending on Twitter.