The Aussie small business owner of a celebrity-loved range of dog beds says she is “heartbroken” after discovering an ALDI range that she says looks almost identical to hers.
Julia Sakr, the founder of Barney Bed, started her business in 2019 and named it after her beloved dog, Barney.
The Sydney woman wanted to create beds that were supportive to dogs’ joints and muscles.
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Her homegrown boutique has a legion of fans, with the “stylish” dog beds, that start from $255, in homes around the country.
But Sakr says she was “heartbroken” when she learnt this week that ALDI had come out with what she says are $49.99 Barney Bed “dupes”.
Both beds appear strikingly similar at first glance, with a similar shape, plush appearance and machine washable covers, she says.
But upon closer inspection, Sakr says it is easy to see the difference.
“I’m just at ALDI because they have a $50 Barney Bed ‘dupe,’ and I am going to do a demo in store because they keep copying my products,” Sakr claimed in a TikTok video this week.
Sakr said the first difference she noticed between ALDI’s dog beds and Barney’s is how lightweight the supermarket product is, compared to her own.
“It is super easy for your dog to latch on, there is no protective covering on the foam either,” she said.
“This means pee and saliva can easily leak through and the fabric is also thin and cheap.”
Sakr told 7Life that “after seeing the copy, I feel reassured in knowing that consumers will recognise the difference in quality and value”.
In a second video, she said she did “not feel good that a multi-national like ALDI is copying my design”.
She claimed her business was “the first in world to create this new genre of pet products”.
“(The beds) are made with luxurious products and memory foam, and they don’t sag or flatten over time.”
Sakr said an important part of starting Barney Bed was creating a bed that would be enduring, because she was “sick of cheap products ending up in landfill”.
“We have customers who bought the Barney Bed in 2019 when it launched and then contacted us in 2024 to tell us that their bed looks brand new,” she said.
“I acknowledge that people may not be able to afford a Barney Bed and there are plenty of cheap options on the market. My issue is that ALDI has blatantly copied our design,” she alleges.
When Sakr began Barney Bed in 2019, she wanted to design a bed with a “chin rest” and a memory foam to support her dog’s joints and muscles.
“I focused on the pain points that customers had expressed in their negative reviews of other dog beds,” she says.
Her business is now an eight-figure brand — with A-list stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Khloe Kardashian and Scott Disick among her customers.
7NEWS.com.au has contacted ALDI Australia for comment.
7NEWS.com.au has not gained any monetary benefit from this content.
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