New Balance lawsuit forces startup to rebrand from 'Balance Athletica' to 'Vitality'

A lawsuit by New balance forced emerging family-owned athleisure brand Balance Athletica to change its name to Vitality.

The brand is now looking to continue elevating the goodwill presence it has developed over the four years since its founding.

In November 2020, New Balance brought the former Balance Athletica to the US District Court of Massachusetts, alleging that it was using a “confusingly similar mark” in selling the same kind of goods to the same consumers.

New Balance said that Balance Athletica tried to “deliberately free ride” on the back of its already established business, citing attempts by the latter to file trademarks similar to its advertising marks. It noted that items sold on Poshmark revealed that the confusion had already occurred.

The case was closed in September 2021.

Under its new brand name, the company is planning to focus on key pillars of its ethos and operations, including the upgrading of its fulfillment operations and updating its customer service support based on its renewed growth plan.

It is also aspiring to be more eco-friendly future under a strategy set to roll out through 2022.

The company’s CEO, Taylor Dilk, expressed her excitement “for the evolution of Balance into Vitality”, underlining its mission of inclusivity, commitment to customers, and creating “confidence-inducing apparel.”