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Beyond Meat has been ordered to pay $38.9 million in damages to fellow alt-meat producer Vegadelphia Foods, after a federal jury found the company liable for trademark infringement.
The dispute centres on Beyond Meat’s use of the slogan “Great Taste, Plant Based” in an advertising campaign promoting its plant-based breakfast sausage sandwich in partnership with Dunkin’. Vegadelphia alleged that the slogan infringed on its own registered trademark, “Where Great Taste Is Plant-Based”, which it has used for years across its plant-based meat portfolio.
Vegadelphia, founded in 2004 and based in Philadelphia, produces a range of plant-based beef, chicken and seafood alternatives. The company claimed Beyond Meat’s campaign caused “willful infringement” and derailed a planned expansion with two major industry partners, arguing that Beyond’s extensive marketing created an “overwhelming deluge” that overshadowed Vegadelphia’s presence in the market.
A jury in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Beyond Meat’s slogan was too similar to Vegadelphia’s trademark and was likely to confuse consumers.
A Beyond Meat spokesperson said the company was “disappointed” with the verdict and plans to seek judicial review.
The ruling highlights the growing intensity of trademark disputes in the plant-based sector. Earlier this year, Impossible Foods lost a four-year EU case against Spain’s Impossible Bakers, after attempting to block the bakery’s use of the word “Impossible” in its branding.
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