Plant-based dairy manufacturer Upfield has made a trademark application in the UK for the use of the ‘beyond’ terminology.
Amsterdam-based Upfield, formed after private-equity firm KKR acquired Unilever’s spreads business in 2017, filed an application with the UK Intellectual Property Office in November, a spokesperson told just-food.
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Upfield extended its presence in the plant-based category in October with its purchase of the vegan food brand Violife, owned by Greek firm Arivia, amid a surge in new entrants in recent quarters to the meat-alternative segment, including in the UK.
The beyond terminology is already used by US-based meat-free firm Beyond Meat, which sells its Beyond Burger in the UK.
The spokesperson for Upfield, which also owns the Becel spreads and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter brands, said the “trademark registration is not associated with Beyond Meat”.
“At Upfield, our vision of a better plant-based future means we’re always looking for different ways to talk about going beyond dairy and beyond butter, for example, our recent acquisition of Violife, the UK’s leading plant-based cheese,” the spokesperson added. “That doesn’t mean to say we aren’t interested in talking with Beyond Meat. However, on this occasion, there are no plans in the pipeline.”
just-food has contacted Beyond Meat for reaction but had not received a response at the time of publication.
