How Greek should Greek yoghurt be? That is the question facing the High Court in London, as Total Greek Yoghurt maker Fage and US yoghurt heavyweight Chobani fight over who has the right to call their yoghurt “Greek”.
It’s a high-stakes lawsuit that will be watched closely by the industry for its potential implications for the UK’s burgeoning Greek and Greek-style yoghurt category, and product labelling more generally.
The battle lines have been clearly drawn. Fage argues only yoghurts produced in Greece should be allowed to be called “Greek yoghurt”, while Chobani - which makes its yoghurts in the US but sells them as “Greek yoghurt” in the UK - insists what makes Greek yoghurt “Greek” is the straining process, not the place of manufacture.
There have been legal spats about the term “Greek yoghurt” in the past, but none has to date gone to trial in the UK.
My impression from speaking to Chobani last week, however, is the company has a real appetite for seeing this case through to its conclusion rather settling, so Fage v Chobani has very real potential for creating a legal precedent and clearing up once and for all whether the “Greek” in Greek yoghurt primarily indicates place of manufacture or a method for making yoghurt.
Just how seriously both parties are taking this lawsuit was already made clear last week, when Fage sought a potentially damaging interim injunction against Chobani, which would have seen Chobani yoghurts pulled off shelves until a final decision in the case has been reached.
Fage’s attempt to get an injunction ultimately failed, but Chobani did agree to temporarily change its labels to “Greek Strained Yoghurt” in the UK - a costly move, as Chobani itself admits.
With both companies determined to fight their corner, expect fireworks when the case goes to trial in February.
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