ManiLife Calls Out ‘AI Imitation’ in the Nut Butter Aisle
Peanut butter aficionado and founder of ManiLife, Stuart Macdonald, has called out “gross” AI-fuelled copycat marketing from a start-up spread challenger.
The cult-favourite brand has brought an inimitable style to the nut butter category, proudly proclaiming the first “Deep Roast” peanut butter of its kind – and the most awarded in history.
Founded in 2015, the original operator has taken a kitchen-cupboard essential to new heights.
From sourcing the gold standard of peanuts from Argentina to building out a range of spreads and snacks with unique flavour profiles, Macdonald has successfully built a nut-obsessed community few can rival.
That originality seems to be the envy of several other brands. He admits he’s gotten “used to being copied” over the years by market competitors.
However, Macdonald says the most recent instance is on “another level”. The peanut butter entrepreneur posted side-by-side pictures of two ManiLife posts against glaringly similar uploads from UK-based Tunisian Bsissa brand, Tunivibe.
Writing on LinkedIn, he said: “A brand called ‘Tunivibe’ which, as far as I can see, exists in real life and not just the AI sloposhere has:
“Taken some Mani content (including a pic of me!)…
“Annoyingly, prompted AI to make the lad slightly better looking…
“But forgotten to remove the ManiLife logo from his ridiculously trendy bucket hat…
“And put it out for all to see. This feels quite gross. If anyone knows them, have a word?”
Tunivibe specialises in making several varieties of Bsissa – a traditional North African powder mix consisting of roasted grains, legumes, spices and seeds.
The brand sells four varieties on its website, all of which are mixed with nuts and olive oil to form a spread.
Responding to Macdonald’s post, Tunivibe said its pictures were “inspired” by ManiLife’s Instagram, but not a direct copy.
“Clarification. Our recent post was inspired by ManiLife’s Instagram – they’re a great success story and an inspiration for small businesses like ours in this AI era,” it said in the comments underneath one of the highlighted Instagram posts.
“That said, the logo on the hat in our image clearly says ‘Maneuyg’, not ManiLife, and the person in the AI-generated image isn’t the same.
“We also don’t make peanut butter – different industries, just admiration.”
Despite correctly pointing out that it doesn’t make peanut butter, Tunivibe does promote its products as a direct swap for the popular spread.
“Move over, Peanut butter and Granola butter – there’s a new vegan spread and vegan product in town,” a passage from its website reads.
From Tunivibe’s response, readers may well conclude that Macdonald’s suspicions were justified, and that ManiLife’s pictures were indeed fed through an AI tool – although the brand stopped just short of a full concession.
One thing’s certain: in a world full of AI shortcuts, originality remains the real premium ingredient.
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