A trendy coffee shop says that Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino is a rip-off of their own Unicorn Latte, and it's taking Starbucks to court over the brightly colored beverage.
ADVERTISEMENT
Brooklyn coffee shop sues Starbucks alleging the Unicorn Frappuccino ripped off its 'greatest creation' (SBUX)
A trendy coffee shop says that Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino is a rip off of their own Unicorn Latte — and it is taking Starbucks to court over the drink.
Unicorn Latte.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Wednesday, the Brooklyn coffee shop, called The End, and its parent company, Montauk Juice Factory, filed a lawsuit against Starbucks for launching the Unicorn Frappuccino, a drink that the Brooklyn company says confuses customers and "overshadows" its own Unicorn Latte.
The End said it debuted the Unicorn Latte, a blended beverage (made with ingredients including ginger, dates, cashews, and blue-green algae) in December 2016. The brightly colored drink quickly became popular, making up 25% of The End's revenue since January and getting coverage in The New York Times and TimeOut.
Montauk Juice Factory filed a trademark application for the drink in late January. Here's what it looks like:
ADVERTISEMENT
In April, Starbucks launched the Unicorn Frappuccino, a drink that the suit alleges quickly became the "dominant 'Unicorn' beverage overnight." Soon, the coffee shop says that many customers believed that the Unicorn Frappuccino predated the Unicorn Latte and began confusing the two drinks.
For comparison, here's one of the many photos of the Unicorn Frappuccino that flooded Instagram:
"This widespread confusion was made worse by the derision and ridicule that Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino encountered upon launch," the lawsuit reads. "For example, People Magazine broadly proclaimed that Katy Perry, a world-renowned recording artist and marketing icon, 'Spits Out Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino After One Sip.'"
The coffee shop and its owner want Starbucks to give them all the "ill-gotten" profits from the Unicorn Frappuccino, and pay for damages to the "Unicorn Latte brand." The plaintiffs are also demanding Starbucks never again advertise the Unicorn Frappuccino and publish a statement "correcting the confusion."
"We are aware of the claims and believe they are without merit," a Starbucks representative told Business Insider. "The Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino blended beverage was inspired by the fun, spirited and colorful unicorn-themed food and drinks that have been trending in social media."
ADVERTISEMENT
Unicorn dishes have been blowing up on social media in recent months. DRINK, a coffee bar inside an American Eagle store in Times Square, also sold a Unicorn Latte — but, as noted in the lawsuit, changed the name of the drink to "Pegasus Latte" after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from The End.
There's also unicorn toast ...
Unicorn "poop" cookies ...
... and unicorn pancakes.
It's indisputable that unicorns are everywhere in 2017. Now, it's up to the courts to decide if Starbucks owes The End for getting in on the trend.
FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended articles
Investor confidence in Nigeria dropped drastically over the last decade
J&J cough syrup recall widens as Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe join efforts
The Nigerian Naira goes from the worst-performing currency in the world to the best
Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) faces arbitration hurdles as Shell tables claims against Venture Global LNG over unsuppplied cargoes
African cities with the best quality of life index in Q1 2024
African countries with the most honorees in the 2024 Forbes Africa’s 30 under 30 list
Nigeria’s inflation hits 33.20% in March 2024- NBS
7 out of 10 Ugandans are living above their means