Cafe couple compelled to rebrand

A young Wellington couple who had a trademark dispute with Coca-Cola have been spared the $9000 cost of rebranding their business thanks to help from local companies and a pro bono lawyer.

Claire Rientjes, 21, and Egemen Yeter, 25, have finally sorted a new name for their cafe and food business, previously known as Innocent Foods, after they were threatened with legal action by the drinks giant.

They sell cold-pressed juices, organic, gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free foods. They had been running their business for at least a year and opened a cafe under the name about six months ago, but were shocked recently to receive a letter informing them they were breaching a Coca-Cola trademark.

The company owns a line of cold drinks under the name Innocent, and Rientjes said it had recently secured the trademark for the word in about 40 different categories in the hospitality industry.

The prospect of changing the name of their cafe and food brand was daunting for the couple, but thanks to help from businesses and an IP lawyer acting pro bono, they are now ready to launch the new name.

They have chosen “No Strings”, from the phrase “no strings attached”.

“Our food contains no strings, the strings being ingredients like sugar, gluten, dairy, etc,” Rientjes said.

Rientjes and Yeter first described Coca-Cola’s approach as “corporate bullying“, but said that the company had become “very co-operative” as soon as the rebranding was underway.