Dive Brief:
- Kind LLC has filed a lawsuit alleging that rival snack bar maker Clif Bar has violated its trademarks. Kind wants a court to stop Clif from marketing its new Mojo bars in packaging that mimics Kind.
- Kind bars are sold in a distinctive, transparent package that lets consumers see that the bar is assembled from real foods, i.e, nuts, berries and pieces of chocolate. Clif Bar's new Mojo product is packaged similarly — a distinct change from the paper bag-like packages of other Clif Bars..
- Clif Bar responded with a statement noting the company's excitement about its new product, but did not address Kind's allegations.
Dive Insight:
We're not lawyers, and far be it from us to complain, but we're getting positively weirded out about how often we have to use the phrase "we're not lawyers" when writing about the food industry these days. It didn't used to be like this.
And that, we suppose, is the crux of the problem. The food industry is different these days and has become plagued by the same things that plague much of American business — turning to knock-offs, rather than growing more innovative; fighting for market share in courtrooms, rather than in supermarket aisles; complaining endlessly about imports, rather than growing an export market.
It reminds us of a story. Once upon a time, in a land far away ...