A small business owner has accused Kmart of an “un-Australian” act after the retail giant began selling a copy of a clever kitchen utensil he designed.
The founder of national industrial design company Dreamfarm, Alex Gransbury, accused Kmart of copying his award-winning folding citrus juicer, the Fluicer.
Gransbury has spent the last 22 years redesigning household items to improve their functionality since founding his Brisbane business in his garage in 2003.
Last year, Gransbury designed its most successful item, the Fluicer, a reinvented version of the humble juicer.
The Fluicer is sold in three sizes (for limes, lemons, and oranges) and retails between $19.95 and $29.95.
It has a unique fold design, a built-in seed catcher that helps strain and channel juice, and anti-spray features.
The product was instantly recognized for its innovative design and, in 2023, was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions and listed among Oprah’s favorite things.
But earlier this month, the small business owner discovered that a duplicate version of his product was being sold in Kmart stores across the country. The imitation, produced by Anko, was priced at only $5.
The Fluicer is a citrus juicer with a unique folding design and anti-spray feature. The item is sold in three sizes (for limes, lemons, and oranges) and retails between $19.95 and $29.95 (pictured).
Kmart is now selling a ‘copy’ of the product for $5
“It’s the least Australian thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Gransbury told the Daily Telegraph.
“We designed everything ourselves in Brisbane, created the prototypes, employed about 30 people here in Australia and that product was huge for us.”
Gransbury also claimed that Kmart had used photographs of its product, as the folding juicer’s packaging included an image showing anti-spray features similar to those of the Fluicer.
But he emphasized that the Kmart duplicate does not actually include the same anti-aerosol features present in the Fluicer.
Gransbury said Kmart’s folding juicer was flawed because it was too small to juice lemons effectively, and had problems even with limes.
Gransbury said Fluicer had not been patented in Australia because the process was not economically viable because it required a lawyer and cost about $30,000, plus annual maintenance fees.
Gransbury (pictured left) claimed the scam was “the most un-Australian thing” and was shocked that Kmart ripped off a small Australian business.
Mr. Gransbury’s product was instantly recognized for its innovative design and, in 2023, was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions and listed among Oprah’s favorite things.
And he said even if he had a patent in Australia, it would be up to him to take any infringement to court, which would cost him a “tonne of money”.
While it wasn’t the first time a Dreamfarm product had been copied, Gransbury said it was a “kick in the teeth” to have been ripped off by another Australian company.
“I wish in Australia we supported each other, but when was it ever okay to rip each other off?” asked Mr. Gransbury.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart for comment.