Supermodel Chrissy Teigen has been accused of copying cult favourite Auckland bakery and cake shop, The Caker, after the two collaborated on a baking kit mere weeks ago.
The locally owned-and-operated business, founded by Jordan Rondel, collaborated with Teigen in September to create a kit for a spiced carrot and salted caramel cake that quickly sold out.
But fans of The Caker were outraged when Teigen, 36, released her own at-home baking kits - a range that bears a strong resemblance to those offered by the small business. Currently, 'Cravings by Chrissy Teigen' offers three baking mixes - chocolatey banana bread, mochi pancake, and salty white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.
On Tuesday morning, Rondel - who co-owns the Auckland and Los Angeles-based company with her sister Anouk - responded to the rumours in a lengthy post to her 64,000 followers on Instagram, admitting she was "exhausted" by the ordeal.
To highlight the salient similarities between her products and Teigen's, Rondel shared an image that displayed the packaging of her kits alongside that of the model's new range. Teigen's baking kits feature a design that is glaringly comparable to The Caker's, including similar styling and copy and almost identical photography.
"Sooo this has happened. Chrissy Teigen released her own line of elevated baking mixes (pictured here alongside mine) right after we collaborated on a cake mix together," Rondel captioned the pictures.
"I've taken a week to try to process everything and could say a lot more here, but I just want to acknowledge the support from everyone who has messaged me or commented online to stick up for The Caker. Thank you from the bottom of my exhausted heart.
"I have no issue with anyone releasing baking mixes, but I think you guys are right that this particular situation isn't chill, especially because we're just a small sister-run business. Chrissy was actually lovely to work with and I don't want this to turn into a dramatic witch hunt, I just want to say thank you to my community."
In response to one follower's comment, Rondel later claimed there is "a lot to the story" behind their collaboration, but she won't be speaking on the details at this time.
Fans of The Caker - including a number of influencers - have been quick to offer their support, with many rallying around Rondel and condemning Teigen for her "direct rip-off" of the small business.
"It's obviously a direct rip off of your designs... I support you @thecaker and we can call her the FAKER," one commented, with a second writing: "This is honestly so disgraceful of her! Your cake kits and business are 1000x better than hers. You're the queen of cakes and the real OG."
"Same packaging factor, same Jurgen Teller-style flash photography, same hand in frame, same 'you will need', her side panels also happen to have exactly 21 lines of copy. Same. Sheesh," another declared.
"This makes me upset. I know how much time and effort you guys put into your kits. You did this by yourself from the start, designs, sourcing ingredients and all that jazz and worked your way up to where you are now. She saw your idea and got a bunch of people to do it for her. I've never been a fan of hers and now even more so," a fourth replied.
Jasmine Garnsworthy, the creator of Female Founder World, also urged her fans to support The Caker, writing on her Instagram Story: "Celebrities can start whatever businesses they want but as consumers, we can also choose where to spend."
Rondel has also shared a number of screenshots of her fans expressing their support for the small business, both on their own platforms and Teigen's Instagram. Several have taken to the comments of Teigen's recent posts to call out the model for her "total rip-off" of The Caker's range.
"Cats out of the bag that you're pathetic and unoriginal? Stealing from the @thecaker literally right after a collab," another wrote, with a third adding: "Big fan of yours. But not a fan of this. You blindsided another female-led business with blatant copying and no respect. I feel so let down by you. Not rad."
It's not the first time Teigen has been embroiled in controversy. Last year, the model - who is married to singer John Legend - was accused of bullying multiple other celebrities including Farrah Abraham, Courtney Stodden and Lindsay Lohan.
Rondel has been approached for comment.
