Last week, Chef Dave Chang guardian reported that Momofuku, a packaged goods brand spun off from a popular restaurant owned by Mr. Chan, has begun cracking down on trademarking the term “Chili Crunch” and is targeting small and medium-sized businesses that sell products labeled “Chili Crunch” or “Chili.” A cease-and-desist letter was sent to the company. Crunch” includes the Homiah and MìLà brands. (Momofuku currently does not have a trademark for “Chili Crunch,” but filed paperwork toward that goal in late March.)
For many members of the Asian American food community, Mr. Momofuku’s actions mean that Mr. Chan, who has established himself by selling Asian food to a primarily non-Asian audience, has made chili crisps and crunches a basic This is proof that they are not only misunderstood as Chinese food, but are now capitalizing on their own success. This is to close the door to other Asian entrepreneurs. As Jing Gao, founder of Fly by Jing, I wrote it on LinkedIn: “If this type of action succeeds, it sets a dangerous precedent that undermines fair competition, not to mention how foolish it is to try to take ownership of a common cultural terminology.”
On April 12, Mr. Chan was released. his podcast episode dave chang show Apologizing for the Chili Crunch debacle, Momofuku announced it would no longer enforce its trademark. In this episode, we’re also joined by Momofuku CEO Marguerite Mariscal. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Mr. Chan claims that Momofuku named the product Chili Crunch only because it was not Chili Crisp.
It was “out of respect for the ‘chili crisp,’ which we associate with Chinese food, especially Chinese cuisine, and especially chili crisps.” [the popular brand] Lao Gan Ma,” Chan says. The goal of Momofuku’s Chili Crunch, he explains, was not to create “authentic Chinese food,” but rather to fuse chili sauce, lao gamma, salsa macha, and salsa seca and create a name that would distinguish them. “We named it ‘Chili Crunch’ out of respect and respect for Chinese tradition and Chinese food culture. We don’t accept it in any way,” Zhang reiterates.
2. Chan believes part of the debacle was due to a misunderstanding of language.
“If I, or Momofuku, had known, ‘chili crunch’ is a tautology and is basically the same as ‘chili crisp,’ but we would never have called it ‘chili crunch.’ Chan said Momofuku’s actions are “depriving people of China’s cultural heritage.”
3. Mariscal and Chan say their future plan is not to enforce or police trademarks.
“Our activity here, our choice, is to do nothing. That’s what we do. There will be no inactivity, no enforcement, no policing of this trademark,” Chan says. . This leaves Momofuku at risk of another, larger company using the trademark, they say. See below for details.
4. Mariscal explains that original trademark enforcement was a protective measure
After Mr. Momofuku bought the Chili Crunch trademark from Colorado-based Chili Colonial, which started selling a Mexican-inspired crunchy chile seasoning in 2008, he said, It became our job to protect them.” she says: “If you don’t show the U.S. PTO (Patent and Trademark Office) that you protect your trademark on a daily basis, it comes from businesses of all sizes, large and small. There’s no telling the difference. Given the decision not to defend the trademark it owns, it is theoretically possible that another company could claim the rights to ‘Chili Crunch’ in the future.
5. Chan likens his situation to ‘The One Ring’ Lord of the Ring
“We can’t transfer it, we can’t destroy it,” he says of the trademark.
“As a company, we can’t decide what is a trademark and what is not,” Mariscal says. “But what we can do is control how we act and how we act as people who bear this mark.”
