Bega Cheese can continue using branding, colours and style of jar of Kraft’s peanut butter

The court dismissed Kraft Heinz’s appeal, ending its lengthy legal fight to force Bega to change the packaging of its spreads.

The court dismissed Kraft Heinz’s appeal, ending its lengthy legal fight to force Bega to change the packaging of its spreads.

Bega Cheese has won its High Court battle against US food giant Kraft Heinz over the packaging of its peanut butter.

The court handed down its ruling on Friday morning, dismissing Kraft Heinz’s appeal and ending its lengthy legal fight to force Bega to change the packaging of its spreads.

It comes after Kraft Heinz submitted an 11th hour application to the High Court in May to appeal a Federal Court decision that allowed Bega to continue using the branding, colours and style of jar of Kraft’s peanut butter.

In a statement, Bega said the High Court’s decision confirmed its right to use the current packaging of its smooth and crunchy peanut butter products.

“The dismissal of the Special Leave Application means that the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia handed down in April this year on this issue will stand,” it read.

“Bega Cheese looks forward to continuing to produce and supply our customers with our much-loved peanut butter products. We are a proud Australian company and are proud to own Australia’s favourite peanut butter.”

In March, Bega confirmed the legal battle with Kraft and a separate trademark dispute with New Zealand dairy group Fonterra had wiped $9.5 million off its earnings.

Bega acquired most of Kraft’s Australian food operations, including Vegemite and peanut butter, for $460m in 2017.

Following the deal, Bega continued to use broadly the same branding, colours and jar style for the peanut butter, with the removal of the Kraft logo.

The peanut butter, which is among Australia’s top-selling brands, features a yellow lid and distinctive yellow label.

At The Australian’s recent Food Forum, Bega executive chairman Barry Irvin said he welcomed competition from milk brokers into the market, saying it “reflects optimism” about Australia’s dairy industry. Bega is understood to be a front runner to buy the $500m business Lion Drinks and Dairy.

The company, which is best known for its cheese products, has been expanding into different markets in recent years and this year launched its first brand of honey, called B Honey. Recently it extended its new products, including Simply Nuts and a no added sugar or salt variety in the classic range.