Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser<http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=f4262ca45d&e=a65f759a7f>. [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e/images/8201ba61-1fb5-40ae-bcd5-eb3595f538b1.jpg] Legal bullying November 2014 In this special issue, I highlight legal actions against plant-based food companies Hampton Creek and Field Roast for daring to take on their respective animal-based counterparts. We can expect to see more of this sort of push back as such products go mainstream. Thanks for your support! You can find me on Facebook<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=c91bddb466&e=a65f759a7f>, Twitter<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=09a7bb0d06&e=a65f759a7f>, LinkedIn<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=6fdba06097&e=a65f759a7f>, and YouTube<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=2abcc040fc&e=a65f759a7f>. – Michele Simon ________________________________ In the Media Eggless Mayo Company Draws Lawsuit from Competitor (CBC Radio)<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=d8e598121f&e=a65f759a7f> Hellmann's Tweaks Site In 'Mayonnaise' Spat<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=472a7be25c&e=a65f759a7f> <http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=d37c1caa3d&e=a65f759a7f> (AP) Hellmann’s Maker Sues Company Over Its Just Mayo Substitute Mayonnaise<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=df46b2c8a7&e=a65f759a7f> (New York Times) Big Food’s Weird War Over the Meaning of Mayonnaise, America’s Top Condiment<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=270a9d2139&e=a65f759a7f> (Washington Post) Mayo it Peas the Court: Is Vegan Mayo False Advertising?<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=b973e8cdec&e=a65f759a7f> (Bloomberg BNA) Egg Fight: Food Giant Sues Silicon Valley-Backed Startup Over Mayonnaise<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=4cc897864c&e=a65f759a7f> (Business Journal) ________________________________ Articles Big Mayo Files Frivolous Lawsuit Against Eggless Competitor<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=10d97ab479&e=a65f759a7f> Food Giant Unilever suing Hampton Creek for daring to offer a cruelty-free and sustainable alternative, whining that: “Just Mayo already is stealing market share from Hellmann’s.” Business school pop quiz: What’s a $60 billion global behemoth to do when a San Francisco start-up cuts into their profits? If answers like “innovate your products” or “hire a better marketing team” come to mind, you must not work at Unilever. That company’s response to competition is to take them to court. Unilever owns many top food brands such as Best Foods (and is also the largest deodorant maker in the world). The company is suing Hampton Creek for unfair business practices and false advertising, claiming their plant-based product called Just Mayo is deceptive to consumers because it doesn’t contain eggs. Actually that’s the whole point: to not use eggs. Read more...<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=5ec10f4f70&e=a65f759a7f> ________________________________ Unilever’s Bullying Backfires, Boosts Hampton Creek <http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=7205bffa70&e=a65f759a7f> Negative media coverage of Big Mayo lawsuit goes viral in case study of PR blunder Business schools love a good case study, especially when a big corporation blows it. Now they can add Unilever’s colossal public relations mistake to their list. Wall Street Journal tech columnist Christopher Mims summed it up with this tweet<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=87102cf8bd&e=a65f759a7f>: “Giant Corporation Generates Huge Quantities of Free Advertising and Brand Equity For Tiny Rival by Suing It”. As I predicted earlier this week in my post<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=28c1299fa1&e=a65f759a7f> about the maker of Hellmann’s suing start-up Hampton Creek over egg-free mayonnaise, the press and social media firestorm in just the past few days has already given Unilever a black eye, while the Just Mayo brand enjoys free positive PR. Almost all of the stories (of more than 200) I saw online were in Hampton Creek’s favor, framing the lawsuit as a classic David versus Goliath fight, at times mocking Unilever. Read more...<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=45f3855789&e=a65f759a7f> ________________________________ Mayogate: Unilever Doctoring Customer Reviews<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=1975425c3c&e=a65f759a7f> Big Mayo scrubbing Hellmann’s website to cover up deception after filing lawsuit against competitor Last week I wrote<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=16ffbb4db2&e=a65f759a7f> about the negative PR backlash against global giant Unilever for its desperate lawsuit against Hampton Creek over Just Mayo, a new product made without eggs that is quickly stealing market share from twin brands Hellmann’s and Best Foods, the market leaders. Most corporations shy away from filing these sorts of competitor lawsuits and Unilever is about to find out why. Unilever claims that the San Francisco startup’s Just Mayo product violates the federal definition<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=5b4e98f983&e=a65f759a7f> of “mayonnaise”, which requires eggs. The case hinges on the accusation that Hampton Creek is deceiving consumers by marketing their product as mayonnaise when the law says it’s not. Read more...<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=0dc15e0740&e=a65f759a7f> ________________________________ Protein Politics: Vegetarian Meat Company Field Roast Gets Booted From Canada <http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=8572b15b33&e=a65f759a7f> As a lawyer who has called out plenty of transgressions by unethical food companies, it’s frustrating when the law gets it wrong. That’s exactly what happened to the alternative meat company Field Roast, based in Seattle, but also selling products to our neighbors to the north. That is, until the Canadian government informed<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=8f0ee9b290&e=a65f759a7f> Field Roast that the company’s products were mislabeled. Not only that, the products also had to be tested — wait for it — on live animals. Read more...<http://eatdrinkpolitics.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6d92905ea6348fcc3f1b61a3e&id=29d54b9794&e=a65f759a7f> Copyright © 2014 Michele Simon, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email either because you signed up at my website or have expressed interest in my work. 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