A Dutch court has banned Nestlé from using the name ‘Incredible Burger’ for its plant-based products, as it is deemed too similar to American ‘Impossible Foods‘. The Swiss food giant has said it will comply with the verdict for the time being, but it will also launch an appeal.
Confusion
Impossible Foods pointed the judge to the strong visual, phonetic and conceptual similarities between the American start-up and the Swiss giant’s plant-based branch, and said Nestlé had tried deliberately to mislead consumers. The verdict largely went the Americans’ way: Nestlé is deemed to have infringed Impossible Foods’ trademarks, meaning it must stop using the name Incredible Burger.
Nestlé will now rebrand its plant-based burgers to ‘Sensational’, ESM writes, or at least for the time being. “We are disappointed by this provisional ruling as it is our belief that anyone should be able to use descriptive terms such as ‘incredible’ that explain the qualities of a product. We will of course abide by this decision, but in parallel, we will file an appeal”, the site quotes an email by Nestlé.
Impossible Foods is trying to access the European market as soon as possible, but is struggling with the strict EU rules on genetically modified ingredients. The American creation relies on an ingredient called soy leghemoglobin, that is designed to make their plant-based burgers ‘bleed’ like the ones made from animals.
