Battle of the burrito bowls: Chipotle sues sweetgreen over 'Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl'
It's the battle of the burrito bowl.
Salad chain sweetgreen changed the name of its new burrito bowl after getting sued by rival Chipotle Mexican Grill earlier this week, the fast-casual chains said Thursday.
Chipotle Mexican Grill filed a complaint Tuesday in a federal California court over the salad chain's Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl, claiming the menu item infringed its trademark rights.
Sweetgreen renamed the bowl to the Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl "as part of a tentative agreement to resolve the lawsuit," the company said in an email.
"Our mission is to bring customers healthy, elevated and craveable menu items that make you feel good," sweetgreen said. "We are looking forward to putting this lawsuit behind us as we continue to connect more people to real food."
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Sweetgreen launched the burrito bowl last week as the brand expands its menu beyond salads and warm bowls. The new bowl includes blackened chicken, roasted chipotle salsa, wild rice, and black beans.
Why did Chipotle sue sweetgreen?
In the lawsuit, the burrito chain said sweetgreen's use of the "Chipotle" name to market its "very similar and directly competitive" bowl likely confused customers and constituted trademark infringement.
Chipotle claimed sweetgreen advertised the bowl using the word "chipotle" in capital letters and in a similar font as the Mexican-food chain's logo, as well as its trademarked Adobo Red color. The company said sweetgreen's bowl also uses similar ingredients to Chipotle’s burrito bowls.
Chipotle said sweetgreen didn't respond to a cease-and-desist letter, asking the salad chain to rename the menu item. The lawsuit said Chipotle suggested sweetgreen use "'chipotle' in lower-case, in a textual sentence," such as "chicken bowl with chipotle."
"We are pleased that [sweetgreen] has chosen to amend their materials in a manner that protects our trademarks and intellectual property, and therefore, We have both agreed to resolve the pending lawsuit. We will continue our vigilance in protecting our intellectual property in the marketplace," Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer at Chipotle, said in a statement.
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