Nestlé abandons ‘vegan butcher’ trademark bid

Nestlé has abandoned its trademark application for the term “The Vegan Butcher” due to legal opposition by Minneapolis-based vegan shop The Herbivorous Butcher.

Set up by siblings Aubry and Kale Walch in 2016 to sell a variety of plant-based meats and cheeses, The Herbivorous Butcher tried to register the “Vegan Butcher” trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office in August 2017.

However, The Herbivorous Butcher was denied on the basis that the term the “Vegan Butcher was merely descriptive.

Meanwhile, after Nestlé acquired the Californian plant-based brand Sweet Earth Foods in 2017, it revealed it would sell Sweet Earth vegan deli slices in supermarkets using the phrase “The Vegan Butcher”.

Nestlé's application to trademark the term with the USPTO was opposed by The Herbivorous Butcher, who said the term is crucial to the marketing and operations of its butcher shop.

Nestlé does not intend to pursue a trademark as it wants to innovate with plant-based meats without having to face legal problems.

The Herbivorous Butcher wrote on its Facebook page that the phrase “vegan butcher” shouldn’t belong to any single company.

Last year, a Dutch court stopped Nestle from using the product name “Incredible Burger” following a preliminary injunction filed by Impossible Foods.