Waitrose has sent Asda a legal letter after its rival unveiled a similarly-named discount range.
Asda announced its Just Essentials range on Monday, promising to offer an expanded range of low-cost products in all stores from May to help shoppers with their living expenses.
But Waitrose said the branding was too similar to its own Essential Waitrose range, launched in 2009.
Asda said “Essentials” is a “commonly used term” for discount ranges.
Asda’s new Value range will replace the current Smart Price range, which has been criticized by food poverty activist and chef Jack Munroe for not being available in all Asda stores.
Waitrose, which is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, said it has written to Asda to raise trademark concerns and is awaiting a response.
“We were surprised to hear that Asda is launching an Essentials range as the Essential Waitrose brand has been in use since 2009 and in that time has built a strong reputation for value, quality and higher welfare standards,” said one Waitrose -Speaker.
“As we have also trademarked the name, we have raised this with Asda and are awaiting a response.”
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An Asda spokesman said: “The word ‘Essentials’ is a generic and commonly used term by retailers to describe their high-value product ranges.”
Asda, which was bought in 2020 by the billionaire Issa brothers and their backers TDR Capital, says the Just Essentials by Asda range will feature 300 low-cost products.
At the moment the Smart Price and Farm Stores ranges have 200 products.
Ms Munroe criticized the supermarket last month for taking value ranges off the shelves and raising prices at a time when many household budgets are being squeezed.
Following her comments, the supermarket chain pledged to carry its budget ranges across all 581 supermarkets and online.
Mohsin Issa, Co-Owner of Asda, said: “We understand that customers are increasingly concerned about the cost of living and need help to keep their grocery bills under control, while at the same time being able to buy healthy and nutritious groceries for their families.
“Our new Just Essentials range has been specially developed for this, combining our lowest prices with a much larger and more diverse range of quality products to meet all household needs.”
The cost of living rose before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the war there has pushed up food, fuel and energy bills.
UK inflation hit a new 30-year high of 6.2% in the 12 months to February, with food prices rising 5.1%.
On Monday, Budget supermarket chain Iceland noted that Russia and Ukraine account for 30% of world wheat exports and Russia is a major oil exporter.
“Boycotts and disruptions resulting from the war are already causing huge increases in global energy and commodity prices, affecting wheat milling, cooking oils, animal feed, fertilizer, food processing, packaging and transportation,” wrote CEO Richard Walker in a blog post.
“Our suppliers of meat, poultry, eggs, dairy and a range of other foodstuffs are not only warning us of massive inflationary pressures to come, but are seriously concerned that they can or will even secure key ingredients in the diesel , in order to transport them to depots and warehouses if necessary.”
The retailer said it will now reverse a decision to stop using palm oil in its own-brand products due to a sunflower oil shortage caused by the war.
Ukraine and Russia account for 70% of the world’s supply of sunflower oil, but Mr Walker said the ingredient had “suddenly become completely unattainable.
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