Sweetgreen Renames Burrito Bowl After Chipotle Sues for Trademark Infringement — Retail Bum

Sweetgreen has renamed its latest menu item as a part of a tentative settlement with Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The renaming comes just days after Sweetgreen introduced its “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl,” which prompted Chipotle to file a lawsuit in a California federal court last Tuesday, alleging that the salad chain’s use of the term “Chipotle” infringed on its trademark.

According to a statement given to CNBC last Thursday by a Sweetgreen spokesperson, the company has now renamed the bowl the “Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl” to concentrate on its operations and provide uninterrupted service to its customers.

“We are looking forward to putting this lawsuit behind us as we continue to connect more people to real food,” said Sweetgreen. Chipotle said it was pleased with Sweetgreen’s decision to modify the menu item’s name to protect its trademarks.

While the legal dispute between the two companies has been resolved, neither disclosed additional details about the tentative settlement.

Chipotle claimed in its initial complaint that it had sent a cease-and-desist notice to Sweetgreen but did not receive a response. However, Sweetgreen said on Wednesday that it had replied to the cease-and-desist notice last Tuesday, but the lawsuit had already been filed by then.

Sweetgreen’s shares suffered a 6% drop on Wednesday after the lawsuit was made public, but the company was able to recover the losses during Thursday’s trading.

The salad chain’s stock has declined by 14% this year, resulting in a market value of $821 million.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on April 10, 2023.