A Philadelphia-based vegan food company is accusing Dunkin’ and Beyond Meat of stealing its slogan.
The donut chain and the plant-based meat giant partnered a few years ago to create a vegan breakfast sandwich which was sold in Dunkin’ stores.
Vegadelphia’s said ads for the sandwich “flooded” the market and would likely confuse potential customers. Canton, Massachusetts-based Dunkin’ launched its Beyond Sausage Sandwich in 2019 but media reports have said the chain dropped it from most of its store menus last year.
Dunkin’ and Beyond Meat did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. Vegadelphia said in a statement Friday that Dunkin’ and Beyond’s “blatant use of our slogan and lack of response gave us the impression that they felt they are above the law.”
Vegadelphia sells plant-based beef and chicken through distributors on the East Coast and in El Meson Sandwiches restaurants in Puerto Rico and Florida. The company was founded in 2004 and received a federal trademark for its slogan in 2015.
In addition to the allegedly misleading slogan, Vegadelphia said Dunkin’s advertisements used font and “sunray” backdrop that resemble its ads, which is called “beyond coincidence.”
The lawsuit said Beyond’s application for a trademark almost identical to “Great Taste, Plant-Based” was rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2020 based on likely confusion with Vegadelphia’s mark.
