Chobani Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Cold Brew Copycat Branding

A cold brew coffee powerhouse and Chobani are about to square off in court, but the lawsuit isn't about beans or recipes. It's about branding. The company coming after Chobani is Danone, the parent company of another yogurt brand, Dannon. The suit is all about two cold brew coffee brands in your grocery store that you may not have known are owned by either of these companies. Danone, which owns Stōk Coffee, is suing Chobani, which owns La Colombe, alleging that its rival deliberately copied Stōk's branding to coast off its reputation. The accusation by Danone against Chobani comes down to the design of the labels on one of La Colombe's offerings, and the specific slogan used. 

Danone says in the lawsuit that Stōk had started using the slogan "Bright & Mellow" in January of 2021, and that Chobani changed the label of La Colombe's light roast cold brew from "Bright & Flavorful" to the identical mellow phrasing in late 2023. At the same time, it also changed the label from medium roast to light roast, allegedly in intentional imitation of the "lighter roast" Stōk label that also uses the "Bright & Mellow" description. Danone also claims this infringement is further compounded by the "strikingly similar" design of the two cold brews, which both use a black and yellow color scheme. Danone is asking the judge for monetary damages and an injunction that Chobani stop selling the product. So far, Chobani has not publicly responded to the accusations.

While the merits of Danone's suit will have to be settled by a judge, there is clearly no love lost between these companies, as Danone has previously sued Chobani twice over marketing. Danone's subsidiary, Dannon, won a court battle in 2016 over Chobani's advertising campaign for its Simply 100 Greek Yogurt, which touted its natural ingredients. In an ad, Chobani stated that rivals, including Dannon Light & Fit Greek, used a sucralose sweetener that contained chlorine. The court found in favor of Dannon over the false implication that the chlorine in sucralose was unhealthy, as the chlorine used is an entirely different kind than the one normally used for cleaning and has never been found to be damaging when consumed. 

Danone also lost a suit in 2019 over whether Chobani's drinkable kids yogurt had less sugar. Now, this long-simmering corporate rivalry has come to the world of coffee. Chobani acquired La Colombe in 2023 for $900 million, although La Colombe still operates as an independent company under its umbrella. However, the branding changes were made right after the acquisition, which Danone calls out in its suit against Chobani. Given La Colombe's place on store shelves and the brand recognition it had before the acquisition, it's hard to predict how this lawsuit will go. But if history is a guide, this isn't the last time Danone and its rival Greek yogurt brand will be in court together.