Chipotle Mexican Grill is suing rival fast casual restaurant Sweetgreen. The complaint claims the salad restaurant’s new "Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl" violates its trademark rights.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., Sweetgreen created a "very similar and directly competitive" bowl as an attempt to capitalize on the Chipotle brand and likely to confuse consumers. Chiptole said Sweetgreen’s product features very similar ingredients to Chipotle’s burrito bowls, including chicken, a grain base (such as rice), black beans, and salsa.
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Sweetgreen said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit and does not comment on pending litigation.
Chipotle chief corporate affairs officer Laurie Schalow said in a statement that the company will "take appropriate actions whenever necessary" to protect its trademarks.
The new Sweetgreen bowl was announced in a March 30 press release, describing it as "the latest iteration of Sweetgreen’s menu innovation strategy, as the brand evolves beyond salads to introduce a bowl without any greens."
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Chipotle's lawsuit said Sweetgreen advertises the bowl using the word "Chipotle" in the same font and style as the Mexican-food chain and uses a background with Chipotle's trademarked "Adobo Red" color.
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The lawsuit said Sweetgreen continued its "infringing conduct" despite a cease-and-desist letter and phone call from Chipotle's legal department. Chipotle said it suggested changing the name to something that uses "chipotle in lower-case, in a textual sentence, to accurately describe ingredients of its menu item," like a "chicken bowl with chipotle."
Chipotle asked the court for an order blocking Sweetgreen from using the "Chipotle" name and an unspecified amount of money damages.
Reuters contributed to this report.
