Nestlé must drop ‘Incredible Burger’, says Dutch court

Nestlé has been forced to change the name of its plant-based burger after a Dutch court upheld a US vegan food maker’s trademark complaint.

The Swiss foods conglomerate’s Incredible Burger will now be renamed as ‘Sensational’ in Europe, marking a win for California-based start-up  Impossible Foods.

Nestlé announced the launch of its vegan Incredible Burger last July, its most significant foray into the meat-free market to date.

But the new brand was met with opposition from Impossible, who claimed the Incredible Burger would cause confusion.

The US company has yet to formally launch in the EU but owns a series of EU trademarks for the ‘Impossible’ name covering food products.

Impossible Foods announced today, June 2 that it had won an injunction at the District Court of The Hague.

The injunction bars Nestlé from marketing its burgers under the ‘Incredible’ brand and imposes a fine of €25,000 (£27,932) per day if the infringing products remain on the market.

“We’re grateful that the court recognised the importance of our trademarks and supported our efforts to protect our brand against incursion from a powerful multinational giant,” said Impossible Foods chief legal officer Dana Wagner.

Nestlé, meanwhile, says it will dispute the court’s findings.

“We are disappointed by this provisional ruling as it is our belief that anyone should be able to use descriptive terms such as ‘incredible’ that explain the qualities of a product,” a Nestlé spokesperson said.

“We will of course abide by this decision, but in parallel, we will file an appeal,” the spokesperson added.

The new ‘Sensational Burger’ name reflects the “the senses that are stimulated by our burger,” the Swiss company added.

Nestlé’s plant-free burgers are marketed under the ‘Awesome Burger’ brand in the US, where it competes directly with Impossible Foods.

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