And if anyone needs examples of actual instances of one business attempting to impersonate another, they can look to this
or this
But this wine thing? I don’t think so.
And if anyone needs examples of actual instances of one business attempting to impersonate another, they can look to this
or this
But this wine thing? I don’t think so.
Forget Gallo. Try Mondavi.
Like how TJ’s works with small, boutique brands to carry their wares, and then suddenly stops talks once it’s gotten enough samples to engineer its own knockoff? Like that sort of riding on coattails?
Not that I’m saying Joe’s Wine is right, either, but it’s very much a pot/kettle situation here, so I can’t get too upset about there being a TJ’s knockoff in some fashion…
I seem to recall a post about TJ’s ripping off some artisanal producer in … Brooklyn?
Can’t find it now.
In the mid-80s, I my employer was embroiled in a dispute that was well on it’s way to becoming a lawsuit with the winery. I was about the third person to be handed the file before it got ‘legal’, at which time I’d have to turn it over to our staff attorneys. When I heard that they were launching a suit against their brother to stop him from using his (their) own name, I knew there was little to no chance I’d settle it before it got to court!
I will say, though, that their corporate headquarters were like none I’d ever seen. Then again, I’d lived a pretty sheltered life up to then, but a huge atrium with a koi pond and real landscaping and birds flying around indoors? And the grounds looked more like a golf course than a corporate campus. It blew my young mind. Of course, immediately adjacent were the rows and rows of concrete warehouses.
Yeah. I suspect we’re thinking of the same article posted here a while back. It’s a pattern where they find small producers of niche products, say, a particular prepared sauce or marinade or spice rub that’s not widely available outside specialty stores catering to a particular immigrant population. They tweak it and manage it get their version in a few local gourmet markets. TJ’s approaches them about carrying it. They ask for samples. They make noise like they will be ordering a TON of product. The product maker ramps up production to assure TJ’s it will be able to meet demand.
Then TJ’s ghosts them. No more communication. No big orders. And lo and behold, there’s a Trader Cho’s Chilli Crisp (or whatever).
And TJ’s is one of the slightly LESS shitty companies around. Which says an awful lot.
Yes! The article small h posted. But I can’t find the pertinent discussion here — mayhaps it was in the meta thread?
yup. that’s exactly the article I was thinking of. Nice catch…
It’s a eat or be eaten world.
Literally and figuratively.
Just because you are doing it, doesn’t mean you want others doing it to you.
As the Taste article notes, TJ’s was threatened with legal action by a small purveyor and then capitulated:
Beyond emulating recipes, Trader Joe’s also has a reputation for shamelessly copying the package designs of established products in the ethnic food space. One founder of a popular ethnic food brand told me, on the condition of anonymity due to a non-disclosure agreement, that their company threatened legal action against Trader Joe’s in 2019 for infringing on trademarked packaging design. “Their product line looked incredibly similar to ours in terms of color choices, patterns, borders, and font,” they recall. “It was kind of uncanny.” The founder, whose products are sold in over 15,000 stores across the United States, initially shrugged it off, but as the confusion grew among their clientele base, they decided to lawyer up. Trader Joe’s eventually capitulated without the founder bringing suit, agreeing to make minor cosmetic changes to its packaging, including altering label motifs and adjusting the color scheme slightly.
At least in the food and restaurant industry, this is par for the course. WalMart, Costco, Kellog, Nabisco, Mars, etc. all do it in one form or another.
And as with all things in life, there is honor among thieves. They all know what boundaries not to cross, and which boundaries are ok to butt up just right to the line.
If you (not you specifically, but “you” generically) are so offended by this lawsuit by TJ’s, then vote with your pocketbook and stop shopping there.
The harm occurs when a consumer trades at Joe’s Wine believing that business is being done with Trader Joe. Joe’s Wine’s suggestive logo and decor foster confusion, maybe deceive the inattentive wine consumer – a reasonable possibility.
Does not the alleged infringor have “Joe” prominently in the connected family name?
The font choice I find dubious.
The lawsuit is ironic, considering TJ’s closed the location to thwart it’s workers’ rights to unionize. Judge Kaleo might invite briefing on whether TJ’s could be found to be an “outlaw”, and therefore kapu from my court…