The Court of Appeal has upheld an interlocutory injunction preventing Nutricia Ireland Limited, part of the Danone group, from passing off specified Skyr yoghurt products as those of Yoplait Ireland Limited. It narrowed the order made by the High Court, removing language that could have applied to other “confusingly similar” products. The substantive passing-off claim has not been decided.
In a judgment delivered on 1 August 2025, Ms Justice Hyland said Danone had not shown grounds to overturn the High Court’s decision to grant an injunction pending trial. The appeal court found that Yoplait had raised a fair issue to be tried about goodwill in its Skyr products and whether Danone’s packaging could misrepresent its products as Yoplait’s.
Yoplait launched its Skyr range in Ireland in September 2022. It said it had invested more than €1.3 million in marketing and sold more than 430,000 units of its 850g product in 2024. Danone planned to launch Skyr products in Ireland in May 2025 using redesigned packaging. The High Court granted an injunction on 2 May, before that proposed launch.
Danone challenged the assessment of goodwill, the risk of confusion, the balance of convenience and the form of the injunction. The appeal court said survey results submitted by Yoplait should not be relied on at the interlocutory stage, but concluded that the High Court judge had reached his view independently from the product evidence and used the survey only to support it.
Justice Hyland said she personally considered the products distinct, particularly the smaller pots, but the appeal was not a rehearing. The High Court judge had considered the products’ features and was entitled to assess their overall impression. Danone had not established a material error in that assessment. The appeal court also rejected its arguments that damages were adequate, that the status quo should account for other markets, or that Yoplait had delayed bringing proceedings.
However, the Court of Appeal found the High Court order too broad. It said “confusingly similar” did not capture the full passing-off test, which requires misrepresentation leading to confusion, and could leave Danone uncertain about what would breach the order. The replacement injunction applies pending the proceedings to identified Danone 450g and 800g Skyr pots, and a sample tub described in the judgment, being passed off as identified Yoplait 450g and 850g pots. Yoplait must give an undertaking as to damages.
The court said Yoplait must expedite the trial and apply to the judge in charge of the Commercial List. The appeal was otherwise rejected. Costs were left for written submissions by both sides.