Buttery prize
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having the last laugh when it comes to cashing in on NZ grass-fed butter.
The West Coast milk processor, owned by Chinese food giant Yili, is vowing to "defend the claims made" by Ornua over packaging of butter it sends to the US market.
Westland Dairy chief executive Richard Wyeth told Rural News the company received legal notice that fellow butter brand, Kerrygold, is seeking to prevent Westgold butter from using its packaging in the US.
Wyeth says Westgold's distinctive packaging is linked to its rich heritage on the West Coast of New Zealand and the taste of its traditionally churned, grass-fed butter is rapidly gaining recognition around the world.
"While we would prefer that consumer taste be the ultimate judge, we will vigorously defend the claims made," he says.
Ornua, owner of Kerrygold, claims "wilful trademark infringement", according to legal documents filed in the US district court in northern California.
The lawsuit is aimed at stopping Westland from advertising, marketing, distributing or selling butter products using a trademark and trade dress "that are confusingly similar to Ornua's federally registered Kerrygold trademarks and trade dress", the preliminatry statement said.
Trade dress is the commercial look and feel of a product that identifies and distinguishes its source, according to US trademark law.
The packaging of both Kerrygold and Westgold has a similar colour and a black and white cow on them; both also have a "grass-fed" type of seal.
Westgold was launched in 2004 and won the top butter brand title in the 2019 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards.
Rural News understands Ornua objected to Westgold's packaging after Westland rolled out the product acrss 550 Walmart stores in 19 American states in November last year.
During the launch Westland said it was the first step in the company's global expansion into the US market. The company said Westgold's challenge will be to stand out to shoppers in the United States butter market, which is dominated by long-standing brands.
Ornua said when it learned that Westland intened to start selling in the US with a name and packaging "confusingly similar" to Kerrygold, it sent the company a cease-and-desist letter.
It said Westland responded to Ornua's letter on Aug 27, 2022 and since then Ornua had tried to reach an agreement with Westland to protect the Kerrygold trade dress.
Those efforts, however, recently reached an impasse, Ornua said.
The Irish dairy giant wants an account of Westland's profits arising from the alleged unfair competition and trademark infringement and awarding of those profits to Ornua, as well as for damages sustained by Ornua.
Westland has until January 19 to file a response.
