Chili crisps (a chili oil condiment layered with crispy fried ingredients with roots in Asian cuisine) are beloved across cultures and have inspired dozens of entrepreneurs to launch their own brands and at least one It gives us an opportunity to start up. standalone cookbook. But in recent weeks, a dispute over the term “chili crunch,” a variation of chili crisps, has emerged between Momofuku Goods, the food division of the David Chang empire, and a small independent company that uses the term. It has become the subject of an intensifying dispute with affiliated companies. their names, guardian First reported.
As a result, a small number of small independent companies have fought back. The Davids insist that Momofuku, the Goliath they call, is unique. chili crunch The results are achieved through discussion and debate among many people, including lawyers, the press, and social media.
In a cease-and-desist letter sent on March 18, 2024, Momofuku’s lawyer criticized Malaysian food brand Homia. sambal chili crunch — Before 2023, it was called Crispy Sambal — Trademark infringement.
In fact, Momofuku owns the rights to the term “Chili Crunch” (spelled with an “e”), trademarked it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2023, and Momofuku licenses it to other companies. . In late March, Momofuku also applied for a trademark to protect chili crunch in the adjacent food category of chili oil and seasoning, as well as “chili crunch” with an “i”. Currently, it seems that they are targeting brands with both spellings.
“Mr. Momofuku trusts that Homia did not adopt the Chili Crunch mark with malicious intent or with the intent to cause confusion,” the suspension states. “However, because trademark law requires brand owners to police the use of their trademarks, and because Momofuku is concerned that consumers may actually be confused, we We have written to Mr. We are asking you to agree not to do so.
Homiah founder Michelle Tew said she was “disappointed” to receive the letter. “As a minority small business owner, I have personally been a strong supporter of Momofuku restaurants and products since immigrating to the United States over a decade ago,” Tew wrote in an email to Eater. . “Chili crunch has a history that long predates Momofuku products and is culturally common to cuisines ranging from China to Korea to Malaysia, where I grew up,” she wrote. He said the products are “based on family recipes dating back to those days.” At least 5 generations. ” She joins others in their anger that Momofuku is trademarking the name of what they consider a product category, and other small Asian independent businesses like Sakusaku and Focuses on language semantics to suppress crunch.
The cease-and-desist letter was one of seven sent to other companies, including Mira, the popular frozen xiao long bao company co-founded by Zhen Liao. Her product was originally called Chili Crisp when she started the company in 2020, but now it’s Mila’s Chili Crunch, a product that has been rebranded and has a different name than Chili Crisp.
Lillian Lin, co-owner of Unkai Taiwan Pantry, which sells chili crisps and other groceries in Brooklyn, was not affected by the suspension, but like others she expressed surprise, saying, “The concept… said. The Chili Crisp/Chili Crunch trademark has existed in Chinese culture for so long that it’s almost surprising that it was even granted in the first place. ”
According to people involved, Momofuku acquired the trademark for “Chili Crunch” in a roundabout way. The solution was a six-figure lawsuit settlement. 2023, Denver Inc. chile colonial The LLC that owned the “Chili Crunch” trademark at the time was moving to sue Momofuku for “trademark infringement.” [and] Unfair competition,” guardian report. Susan Josel, owner of Chili Colonial, which has been developing the Mexican version of Chili Crunch since 2008, said that before Momofuku bought the trademark in an out-of-court settlement, he was “going bankrupt chasing companies that wanted to use the name. I was on the verge of doing that,” he says. she said. (Hojel currently uses this name under license agreement.)
To maintain a trademark, its use must be policed. “Trademark owners register variations of their trademarks to prevent others from confusing them with similar trademarks,” said Daniel Schulman, an intellectual property and trademark law expert at business law firm Vedder Price. It’s very common to do that.” “In fact, you can be protected from confusingly similar trademarks even if you don’t file for these variations. You can also protect your rights against others who use your mark or confusing variations of the mark. If you do, you may lose your trademark rights completely because your trademark no longer functions as a unique brand identifier. You just have to do it. It’s part of good trademark practice.”
Before Momofuku obtained the trademark, Hojer had sent cease-and-desist orders not only to Momofuku but also to major companies such as Trader Joe’s. (This week only, taste the food We reported on Trader Joe’s “questionable business practices, with many food brands calling out the company’s blatant and aggressive copycat culture.” Hojer pointed out that many infringers “are not small businesses” when it comes to protecting trademarks, which she contended. She for herself and the “little man”. In 2023, Momofuku goods brought in Sales of $50 millionsaid CEO Marguerite Zabar Mariscal.Brought to you by Trader Joe’s 13.3 billion dollars.
However, many people on social media are reacting to the Momofuku news. teeth siding Homia and the company that received the cease and desist letter. “I just couldn’t believe something like this would happen,” Liao said. “This term has been around for a long time. It’s a pretty standard condiment in Asian grocery aisles.” As for the discontinuation letter regarding the Mila Chili Crunch name, “it clearly felt like an intimidation tactic.” Stated.
Tew has been advised that the trademark “could be challenged in court if someone wanted to do it,” she said. “However, those who object must have sufficient funds to go to court and pay the associated legal costs.” Her legal team responded that it would keep the Sambal Chili Crunch name. are sending.
Eater has reached out to Momofuku for comment.
