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Chipotle Sues Sweetgreen for Trademark Infringement Over New Menu Item

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On Wednesday morning, Sweetgreen stocks dropped by 10% after Chipotle Mexican Grill sued the company for trademark infringement over its new “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl.” The lawsuit comes less than a week after the menu item was announced.

Sweetgreen is well-known for providing healthy food at scale, and the company has recently been attempting to diversify beyond its signature salads. The bowl will only be available for a limited time.

In its complaint, Chipotle claims to have sent Sweetgreen a cease and desist notice asking the company to drop “Chipotle” from the item’s name. Sweetgreen did not respond.

Chipotle alleges that it also suggested Sweetgreen alter the name to something that uses “chipotle in lower-case, in a textual sentence, to accurately describe ingredients of its menu item,” like a “chicken bowl with chipotle.”

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In a statement during the product’s release, Sweetgreen’s co-founder and chief concept officer Nicolas Jammet explained that diner suggestions prompted the addition to the menu.

“Our customers’ feedback plays a major role in the new menu items we introduce, and the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl is our answer to heartier meal options that can be enjoyed any time of the day. Inspired by bold chipotle spices, this protein-heavy option balances a brand-new flavor profile for Sweetgreen with whole grains and better-for-you ingredients that our customers love.”

The lawsuit further claims that the new product’s advertisements feature the word “Chipotle” in a font very similar to the one used in Chipotle’s logo and occasionally uses a shade of red that resembles Chipotle’s trademarked Adobo Red. Chipotle also alleges that the two chains are competitors in the fast-casual dining industry.

Along with asking for an injunction against Sweetgreen using “Chipotle” in the bowl’s name, Chipotle is also asking the courts for the profits made by Sweetgreen off the menu items.

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In a statement to CNBC, Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, said that the lawsuit is a matter of protecting the company’s brand. The lawsuit states the item is “very similar and directly competitive.”

“We don’t typically comment on litigation, but we will say generally that we’re committed to protecting our valuable trademarks and intellectual property. Consistent with that, we will take appropriate actions whenever necessary to protect our rights and our brand.”

Shares of Sweetgreen have dropped 24% in 2023, reducing the company’s market value to $726 million and causing investors to worry about the company’s future.

However, despite general economic uncertainty, Chipotle has continued to enjoy robust business. During the same period, the fast food behemoth saw its stock value increase by 22% to $47 billion.

Nice Restaurant

US Restaurant Workers Demanding Livable Wages Amid Reopenings 

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America’s restaurant industry has opened up for business, however, a majority of staffers in these eateries are still coping with the hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic, its economic impact, and the responsibility of enforcing health and safety protocols on angry customers for small wages. 

Restaurants all throughout the country have been struggling to find enough workers who are willing to fill open positions for minimum payment. Many industry workers throughout the nation blame the labor shortages on poor pay, unsafe working conditions, disrespect from customers, and concerns over the pandemic in general. 

Iesha Franceis is an employee at a Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers chain in Durham, North Carolina, who recently spoke to the Guardian about why she believes restaurants throughout the nation are struggling.  

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“I currently make $11.40 an hour, employees are still struggling and employers are still not caring, and it’s their own fault these corporations are experiencing worker shortages. We are all still not making livable wages and these companies are still trying to penny pinch any way that they can.”

The leisure and hospitality industry currently has 1.7 million fewer jobs available when compared to before the pandemic. For the food industry, jobs declined by 42,000 in the month of August 2021, and overall has experienced a surge of workers quitting all throughout 2021. 

Francis herself led multiple walkouts at her restaurant over Covid-19 safety concerns and poor working conditions throughout the entire pandemic. This is a common form of protest that many industry workers have turned to in order to show their employers that they should be valued for being an essential worker during a global health crisis, and being paid like they’re working a summer job in high school is not going to cut it anymore. 

Franceis explained “many employees left through the pandemic while operating hours are still reduced, which has left me and my co-workers to deal with increased workloads and work extra hours to try to compensate for staffing shortages.

“Pay me what I’m worth. Because if I can sacrifice myself for your business to keep your wheels turning, then it’s time that you sacrifice yourself to keep my wheels turning. It’s off of our backs that their lives are so easy.”

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A spokesperson for Freddy’s said in an email: “Freddy’s has an uncompromising commitment to safety and expects each of our franchisees to provide a safe working environment for their employees, including following proper cleaning and sanitation protocols. Additionally, as an independent franchisee, the local owner in Durham is solely responsible for setting their employees’ hourly pay and salaries.”

Lily Nicholson is a server at a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee who discussed the constant harassment and issues workers are facing from customers who refuse to abide by mask mandates and Covid-19 safety protocols. Leading to a much bigger discussion over why low-paid employees are having to deal with verbal abuse from customers when they’re the ones working during a pandemic to provide services. 

“It’s such a precarious scenario. We’ve been the worker who has been deputized into enforcing this rule at the door that you’re supposed to have a mask on, so at the door you already have an altercation,” said Nicholson.

Many fast food employees also had no paid sick leave throughout the entire pandemic, so if they did happen to catch Covid, they were losing money everyday they had to stay home, and in some cases, employees were fired for not showing up. 

Essential workers in every industry are growing tired of not being as valued as the nation has made it seem to be throughout the past two years. Individuals are literally putting their lives on the line to clock into work and make the bare minimum so they can continue to scrap by. Time will tell how much longer the food industry, and others, will be able to last without a proper source of labor. 

Variety of Ice Cream

Start-Up Makes Ice Cream From Insects To Help Save The Environment

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Enjoying some ice cream in the hot South African sun sounds like a no brainier. The long summer months and dry desert atmosphere surely is enough to keep the frozen dessert industry in business, however, this new Cape Town start-up is looking to not only open the minds of ice cream lovers everywhere, but also show the world just how sustainable the food industry can really be; and they’re doing it with bugs. 

Gourmet Grubb is a new luxury ice cream establishment in Cape Town, South Africa, and they’re quickly becoming known as the start-up that makes its food with bugs. Yes, you read that correctly; when looking for a new and sustainable way of making this classic dessert, Gourmet Grubb discovered that using EntoMilk is not only beneficial to the environment, but offers a dairy-free ice cream option as well. 

EntoMilk is a dairy alternative that is made by “blending the larvae of a tropical insect known as the black soldier fly.” Before you immediately write-off EntoMilk based ice cream as gross and weird, know that around the world there are about 1,900 different insect species that are consumed by human beings as a regular practice. While eating bugs hasn’t really infiltrated Western culture too much, there are plenty of different areas of the world that enjoy insects as a delicacy or snack, it just depends on where you are. 

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Flavors of the ice-cream include all the classics like vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter, and a few specialty flavors like Christmas Spices. The EntoMilk apparently gives the ice cream a “slightly earthy undertone with an overall rich and creamy taste,” according to Leah Bessa, a co-founder of Gourmet Grubb.

According to their website, EntoMilk has five times the amount of protein and nutrients when compared to traditional dairy products. Additionally it contains large amounts of fat, minerals, zinc, iron, and calcium, all of which are traditionally found in protein enriched foods like beef, however, EntoMilk is way more concentrated in all of these things compared to beef. The milk is also lactose and gluten-free, and doesn’t contain any sugar or carbs; traditional ice cream can’t say any of that. 

Besides being better for you, the means of creating this EntoMilk-based ice cream is much more environmentally sustainable compared to most other food industry means of production and distribution. This is important as one of the biggest industries contributing to climate change is the industrialized factory means of producing food. The United Nations has claimed that the entire planet will need to double its food production to keep up with the rising population rates. To avoid a massive famine epidemic, this change needs to occur by 2050. 

“We decided to focus on an industry [food] that is under a lot of pressure due to animal welfare and environmental concerns. Insects aren’t sentient beings, and they only grow in the conditions in which they thrive, so the farming conditions cater to their animal welfare needs. Insects need very little water, feed and space to grow. They also produce little/no greenhouse gases compared to traditional livestock,” said Bessa. 

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Mario Barnard, chef at Gourmet Grubb

Insect farming is also much more environmentally conscious because it can be done indoors, meaning in more metropolitan areas. Transporting farm-grown produce/products from rural farms burns fossil fuels and emits tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In a more localized indoor setting, these bugs can grow, thrive, and contribute, without having to worry about daily weather patterns affecting their growth.  

The data doesn’t lie, insect livestock is going to be a major part of our food industry in the future, it’s just an idea a lot of human beings will have to grow accustomed to. It’s estimated that by 2023 the global edible insect market will reach a market value of $1.2 billion, making Gourmet Grubb fairly ahead of the curve. So much so that they’re even experimenting with some popup stores where they serve more insect-infused dishes like pasta. 

“We need to find alternatives that will be able to sustain the growing population and create a sustainable and environmentally friendly farming system. The only way EntoMilk can truly make a difference and reduce the pressures of traditional dairy is if it is accepted and consumed on a global scale,”  said Bessa.