Our Place founder warns supermarket dupes will 'cause businesses to fail'

Yahoo

11 hours ago

Supermarkets launching copycat versions of labels will 'destroy' innovation and cause small businesses to fail, the co-founder of a kitchenware brand backed by Gwyneth Paltrow and Jay-Z has warned.
Our Place co-founder and co-chief executive Shiza Shahid said the brand was growing rapidly in the UK despite dupes appearing on the market.
Ms Shahid launched the Los Angeles-based business with her husband in 2019, with Will Smith's Dreamers VC, Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners, and Gwyneth Paltrow among its early investors.
It specialises in kitchenware including pans designed to be non-toxic and non-stick, and collections created in complementary colours and aesthetics.
Widely-shared posts on social media, especially Instagram, have helped drive popularity of the brand in recent years – including a collaboration with actress and singer Selena Gomez.
Similar versions of bestselling products – namely the 'Always Pan' which currently sells for £125 – have recently launched in supermarkets including Aldi and Marks & Spencer with a lower price tag.
Ms Shahid told the PA news agency: 'Unfortunately I think it is incredibly harmful.
'When we started Our Place, my partner and I bootstrapped our savings and worked on the design for two years before we ever sold a single unit.
'And when multi-million dollar corporations come and they knock it off, with no regard for innovation, IP, small business, they are causing tremendous harm and it will cause a lot of businesses to fail, and it will destroy innovation.'
She said such companies are 'very skilled in the art of duplicity' which makes it difficult and costly for smaller brands to legally challenge.
But the businesswoman told PA that they were 'not able to guarantee that same level of detail and quality' with replica products.
'So we trust that, while not every consumer will see the difference, many will and many do,' she said, adding that shoppers often want to 'support brands that they believe in'.
A spokesman for Aldi said: 'For over 35 years we have championed customers by offering high quality exclusive products at the lowest possible prices.
'We go to great lengths to ensure that all our exclusive brand products are compliant with strict copyright laws and regulations.'
M&S has been contacted for comment.
Ms Shahid, who also co-founded the Malala Fund with Nobel Prize winner and campaigner Malala Yousafzai, said Our Place products are typically viewed as an 'accessible luxury'.
'Despite some of the cost-of-living challenges, people are investing in the home and kitchen,' she told PA.
'The first thing you do is maybe you go out a little bit less, but then you still want the joy and the nourishment and the connection, and home cooking is a really great way to do that.
'It feels like an everyday luxury… people are choosing products that will last, that will bring joy, and that will actually help them save money over time.'
Sales across the brand spiked by 92% over the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year, and it has built more than a million active customers.
It is also set to launch a shop-in-shop space within London department store Selfridges amid efforts to expand into retailers and take on established competitors such as Le Creuset.
Ms Shahid said Our Place has 'a lot of younger consumers but we also have a lot of men and women in their 60s', while many of its products – including the countertop 'wonder oven' – appeal to single-person households and small families.