Dairy-free vegan chocolate maker Moo Free is facing trademark pressure from confectionery giant Mondelez International.
Moo Free is the second brand challenge the US-headquartered confectionery giant is undertaking in the UK but unlike Catherine’s Originals – another vegan chocolate business – Mondelez is not yet taking legal action.
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The case revolves around Moo Free’s White Choccy Snowballs and Mondelez’s Cadbury Snowballs product line.
Mondelez has not outlined exactly what its trademark gripe is with family-owned Moo Free, which was set up in 2010 by husband-and-wife team Mike and Andrea Jessop.
A spokesperson for the Nasdaq-listed snacks major said in a statement: “No legal action has been taken, but we have been in touch with Moo Free to make them aware of our trademark.
“We are open to reaching an amicable resolution.”
In a separate statement provided to Just Food, Moo Free’s Mike Jessop said the UK business is “potentially facing legal action” from the same company as in the Catherine’s Originals lawsuit in connection with Mondelez’s Toblerone brand – Kraft Foods Schweiz Holding GmbH.
The co-founder said “Kraft alleges that our White Choccy Snowballs product infringes trademark rights associated with Cadbury Snow Balls”.
He added: “Kraft also alleges that we are taking advantage of the reputation associated with the Cadbury product and potentially causing confusion in the minds of shoppers.
“Moo Free takes intellectual property concerns seriously. However, we do not accept that any infringement has been established and have responded accordingly.”
Mr Jessop confirmed Mondelez has “requested that we remove our product from sale immediately”.
Doing so would “cause significant financial damage” to Moo Free, he said, as the company seeks to “resolve these matters appropriately”.
Meanwhile, Catherine’s Original, the vegan business set up by Catherine Dodd in 2021, plans to dispute Mondelez’s legal trademark battle over the start-up’s O’bar brand.
Dodd headed up a blog on the Walberton, Sussex-based company’s website with “no one likes a bully”, writing “we strongly disagree with Kraft’s claim against us and are working with our legal team to defend our position”.
She added: “Kraft alleges that O’bar infringes the Toblerone trademark rights and could mislead people to believe there is a commercial connection with Toblerone. Its claim also includes allegations that O’bar takes unfair advantage of Toblerone’s reputation.”
Over on Mondelez’s home turf, the company has taken legal action against Joyride, alleging the US candy company has infringed the trademarks and trade dress of its Sour Patch Kids brand.
In a complaint filed on 2 November in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the snack major claims the packaging for Joyride’s Sour Smacks line “features nearly identical copies” of the Sour Patch Kids mascot and is “intended to copy and cause confusion”.
