Following infringement notices from two leading multinational food brands, free-from snack brand CRAVE is having to make changes to its range this summer rather than face a costly legal battle.
CRAVE’s pickled onion flavour maize snacks will be renamed Pickled Onion Noughties and change shape from feet to rings; its hot and spicy maize puffs will be rebranded Hot & Spicy Hot Dawgs; and its chocolate hazelnut spread, which launched in May, will change its name to Sir Spread-a-lot.
“We operate in a very niche market of free from and vegan, and so clearly [these are] very different products from mainstream brands,” says CRAVE founder Rob Brice. “We don’t see there being any confusion between the two. We see this as an opportunity for us to have fun and get creative with some new ideas and will of course make the changes that we need to.”
Constraints of time and money make it very difficult for us to take on these giants, we are not a big threat to their success
The brand is concerned that, with the success of challenger brands being key to ensuring innovative ideas come to life, cases like this brought about by ‘mighty corporates’ will squash innovation in the British food and drink market and limit consumer options.
“Constraints of time and money make it very difficult for us to take on these giants, we are not a big threat to their success, we are just here to make ‘normal food’ available to everyone,” adds Brice. “If you are coeliac, why should you be limited to the bland, boring, ‘cardboard’ snacks of the free-from aisle?
Nutella manufacturer Ferrero said in a statement: “We were aware that Crave launched a new product that infringed upon our intellectual property rights relating to the Nutella brand. We have been in contact with them directly to address this as per our right to do so.”
Having launched in 2020, Brice won Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing in 2022 and as a result achieved listings in supermarkets including Asda and Morrisons.
The changes will take place in August and Brice says he’s looking forward to introducing more products onto shelves soon.
