It’s difficult to be “mellow” when you’re being ripped off, apparently.
French dairy giant Danone is taking its U.S.-based rival Chobani to court over claims that the latter company’s La Colombe Coffee brand has been infringing upon its “Bright & Mellow” trademark, a move described by plaintiff’s attorneys as Chobani’s latest attempt to “unfairly compete with Danone and copy Danone’s product packaging.”
The complaint by Danone US and WhiteWave Services, Inc., filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks a permanent injunction against Chobani’s use of the trademark, plus monetary damages and attorneys’ fees.
Following its $900 million acquisition of La Colombe, the suit claims Chobani overhauled the packaging of its medium roast cold brew in several significant ways, including adopting a “golden yellow” color similar to Danone’s SToK Cold Brew Coffee, modifying other accent colors and changing the description from “medium roast” to “light roast.”
The on-package tagline was also changed from “Bright & Flavorful,” in use since 2021, to “Bright & Mellow,” the same as used by SToK.
In a letter sent to Chobani in March, Danone requested the company to stop using “Bright & Mellow” on its packaging, but no resolution was reached.
Counsel for Danone argued in the complaint that “Chobani’s infringement of Danone’s valuable intellectual property rights has been knowing, calculated, and systematic.” It’s just the latest skirmish in an ongoing legal battle between the two yogurt makers centered around claims and callouts. A 2016 lawsuit brought by Danone concluded with an injunction against Chobani for falsely depicting Danone products as containing chlorine, while in 2019 a judge determined that Chobani’s claim to have “33% less sugar” than Danone in its kids’ drinkable yogurts was misleading.
Sales of La Colombe cold brew products grew over 200% ($53.7 million) over the 52-weeks ended July 3, according to Circana Total U.S. MULO w/ C-store data.
Chobani has not responded to the suit.