Sour Patch Kids Retain Counsel

CHICAGO—Mondelēz International has sued Joyride Sweets in federal court in Illinois, alleging that the packaging and kid-shaped gummies of its Sour Smacks candy copy Sour Patch Kids, Food Dive reported. The suit cites the yellow and green packaging and a mascot it calls nearly identical, and says the two products often sit side by side on the same shelves.

The filing does not hold back. It says Joyride dared Mondelēz to do something about it, and adds, "these KIDS will not be pushed around." Joyride did not respond to Food Dive's request for comment.

Legal observers noted it was the first time a gummy had been represented by counsel in its own voice. A fictional paralegal said the kids had been prepped for weeks, mostly on how to sit still.

"They are confident," said Margo Feltenstein-Rudd, a fictional trademark attorney who has represented two cereal mascots and a hamburger. "They are also sour, and then sweet. We have advised them to stay sour until the deposition."

They are sour, and then sweet. We have advised them to stay sour until the deposition.

Packaging matters, Food Dive noted, citing surveys in which about seven in 10 consumers said it influences their choices. Mondelēz has pressed other packaging cases, including a demand last year that Aldi change several private label snack designs.

I bought one bag of each Wednesday and set them on Judge, my kitchen scale. (I weighed it: 8.0 ounces and 8.0 ounces.) Judge declined to take sides, which is consistent with her record. I read both ingredient lists aloud, in order. They begin the same way. I stopped there on advice of nobody.

At press time the gummies had been asked to remain in their bags, and three of them, fictional, had already been eaten by a witness.

Celeste Abernathy covers packaged goods and weighs everything first. Judge, her kitchen scale, assisted. More from Celeste Abernathy ›

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Terms in this story: Private Label