Organic Ice Cream Scoops Up Ben a Jerry’s [e163]

Nasir and Matt talk about an ice cream maker that is attempting to produce organic versions of Ben a Jerry's flavors. Full Podcast Transcript NASIR: All right. Welcome to our podcast where we cover business in the news and add our legal twist. My name is Nasir Pasha. MATT: And I’m Matt Staub. NASIR: Welcome to our program. We have a good one today. My favorite type of food – well, I think it’s one of my favorites – ice cream. I think it’s my favorite dessert – actually, vanilla ice cream and brownies is my favorite. MATT: Yeah, ice cream, you scream, we all scream for lawsuits. NASIR: Wow. That was great. I love that. MATT: There hasn’t been a lawsuit involved in this yet. NASIR: No, there hasn’t. MATT: Yeah, I should have jumped the gun there, but possibly… And so, you’re going to have to help me out with this because I don’t eat ice cream so I don’t know what’s even going on. NASIR: Yeah, I’ll explain to you everything that you need to know. MATT: It’s this cold food you eat with a spoon. NASIR: I’ve been eating it since I was a kid so I’m pretty sure I’m an expert unlike everyone else. MATT: I’ve had ice cream before so it’s not like I never had it, yeah. It’s just been a very, very long time. So, obviously, Ben a Jerry’s, that’s got to be one of the top ice cream makers – if not the top in terms of what you can buy in stores. I think people are familiar with them. We’ve talked about them before on the podcast, I believe, as a B Corp. NASIR: Maybe. Yeah, probably. I’m sure we’ve mentioned them. MATT: I think they’re kind of one of the biggest companies that’s referenced when you’re looking at B Corps. NASIR: Yeah. MATT: So, anyways, Ben a Jerry’s, they have these crazy flavors – or names, at least – and there’s this new company – or newer company, new-ish – Three Twins. NASIR: Which is very misleading, by the way. Is it three sets of twins or triplets? MATT: That’s a good question. NASIR: I think, if they meant three people, they would say triplets, right? MATT: Yeah, three twins doesn’t make sense. I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, three twins. NASIR: That would mean six people. MATT: Yeah, my head’s exploding thinking about that. NASIR: What’s weird is three twins, obviously, it’s the name, but then they have a picture of three different people. MATT: Yeah, that’s why I’m confused. NASIR: Already you know that these guys are a little crazy. MATT: Something’s up. NASIR: Something’s up. MATT: So, basically, what he’s doing is trying to produce the organic version of some of these Ben a Jerry’s flavors. For example, Ben a Jerry’s has Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia. Three Twins has one called Cherry Chocolate Chunk and the carton says, “We’re not monkeying around with this combination of banana, walnuts, and chocolate.” It’s not another one with The Grateful Dead. Ben a Jerry’s has the Grateful Dead one and he does a little tribute to them as well saying, “You’ll be grateful that this sumptuous combination is available in organic.” NASIR: Sumptuous. MATT: Sumptuous? NASIR: Sumptuous. MATT: Yeah, I said that. That’s what I said. NASIR: Yeah, you’re right. MATT: Ah. So, basically, what it sounds like is he’s created these organic versions of Ben a Jerry’s flavors – at least some of them – which is kind of weird. I would have thought that Ben a Jerry’s would have had their own organic flavors by now anyways given the nature of kind of how they operate. NASIR: That’s true. MATT: But it’s interesting because, I mean, he admits to it. You know, “We’re not ripping off what they have. We’re paying a tribute to these flavors,” and, you know, it’s different because it’s organic. I said the lawsuit thing at the beginning. I don’t know if there is going to be lawsuit with this. NASIR: Well, Matt and I were trying to figure out, okay, if Ben a Jerry’s would allege some trademark infringement issues because I’m sure they’ve trademarked their flavors – at least they hold some kind of tradem...

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