Pickle wars (round 2): Grillo’s sues Whole Foods own brand for allegedly stealing recipe

A mere six months after its last court date, Boston-based Grillo’s is again in the hot seat, this time suing Patriot Pickle, Inc. for allegedly profiteering from trade secret information. In the lawsuit filed in Florida under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Grillo’s claims Patriot has violated a contract and used its access to Grillo’s recipes and equipment to create a line of pickles under the Whole Foods 365 brand. Grillo’s alleges the ingredients are identical to its own pickle line, with organic acid profile tests proving Patriot’s use and disclosure of Grillo’s trade secrets. Duping customers In January, Grillo’s was in court with a suit against Wahlburgers for falsely advertising its pickles as ‘fresh,’ ‘all-natural’ and containing ‘no preservatives.’ Again, Grillo underscored its suit with lab tests that allegedly showed Wahlburger’s products contained ‘considerable amounts of benzoic acid’, a chemical preservative often used to preserve foods with an acidic pH. At the time, Adam Kaufman - who took over the helm as president from founder Travis Grillo following the company’s sale to King’s Hawaiian - said, “In positioning its products as ‘fresh’ and containing ‘no preservatives’, our competitor is effectively duping consumers and retailers, especially those who are actively seeking all-natural food products with clean labels.” Massive violation of trust Of the new case, Kaufman said, “Patriot Pickle is trying to profit off of Grillo’s 100-year-old family recipe and our trade secrets. “It’s a massive violation of trust and a disappointment that after nearly a decade of partnership, our former co-packer has violated our agreements and is producing a nearly identical line of pickles for one of our biggest retailers, threatening to permanently damage our business.” He added the alleged use of Grillo’s recipes to produce a line of own brand pickles for Whole Foods “threatens to cripple Grillo’s business and customer base irreparably”. Whole Foods is one of Grillo’s biggest retailers; the Whole Foods 365 branded line of pickles comes in at a lower price point; and this is the highest grossing time of year for pickle sales. As such, Grillo’s is asking the court for emergency injunctive relief in addition to a permanent injunction and damages. “Customers choose Grillo’s because they know that when they purchase Grillo’s pickles, they are purchasing fresh pickles free from artificial preservatives … made with simple, real and garden-fresh ingredients,” added the company.

Pickle wars (round 2): Grillo’s sues Whole Foods own brand for allegedly stealing recipe

Litigation addiction is a real thing, but just as Prince Harry has scores to settle, so does Grillo’s Pickles, this time alleging that Patriot Pickle ‘stole’ their beloved proprietary recipes for a line of Whole Food-branded pickles.

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