Makers of Old Bay seasoning, New Bae spice settle lawsuit
A lawsuit between McCormick, maker of Old Bay seasoning, and O’Hara-based Primal Palate, maker of the New Bae spice brand, has settled.
The suit was dismissed Tuesday in federal court in Baltimore, with the court noting that it “has been advised by the parties that the above action has been settled.”
McCormick filed suit in December 2018, alleging trademark infringement against Primal Palate, which started selling its New Bae spice blend in fall 2017.
Maryland-based McCormick alleged that New Bae was “likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception” and that McCormick was “now, and will be, irreparably injured and damaged.” It also claimed that by using the phrase “out with the Old, and in with the NEW” on an Instagram post, Primal Palate was diminishing the Old Bay brand and “creating a wrongful association.”
Primal Palate said at the time that while its spice certainly paid homage to Old Bay, its was distinctive in color, packaging and spelling and also because it was organic. The name Bae referred to a popular term in music and social media and was chosen for the spice because you would “reach for it Before Anything Else,” according to the Primal Palate website.
McCormick said Thursday that it did not have any comment on the settlement. Primal Palate did not respond to requests for comment.
As of Thursday, New Bae — “a fiery new flavor in your life, giving quite the kick to anything from seafood to roast vegetables to epic potatoes” — was still for sale on the Primal Palate website.
Bill and Hayley Staley launched Primal Palate about 4½ years ago as an extension of their popular blog, Make It Paleo. The couple also have written numerous cookbooks.
Last month, Primal Palate posted an update on the case on its Instagram account, using its #savenewbae hashtag, noting that the discovery phase had ended and McCormick had taken several depositions. “Primal Palate is confident in its position and looks forward to airing its position in the trial, which is scheduled for March 2020.”