Lead photo via Tapatio Hot Sauce
Things are heating up in the world of hot sauce.
Tapatio, one of America’s most ubiquitous hot sauce brands, is getting spicy with a cannabis industry clone, taking the makers of cannabis-infused condiment “Trapatio” to court over what they see as a clear rip-off of their signature cowboy logo.
According to TMZ, Tapatio is seeking a cease and desist order along with financial restitution from Trapatio, claiming the “marijuana infused salsa picante” is using the hot sauce giant’s iconic “charro” logo to sell their product, swiping everything from the wide brimmed sombrero down to the yellow jacket, white shirt, and identical red tie, not to mention the trapped-out name switch.
While the California-based hot sauce company is willing to take their infused imitators to court to clear their name from the marijuana industry, Trapatio owner Isaac Granados insists that he has talked to representatives from Tapatio and heard a completely different story, telling TMZ that the corporate condiment company was open to collaboration.
"With the legalization of weed I would have never thought they would come after me.” Granados said. “The cannabis community needs products like this. Tapatio needs Trapatio."
Nothing more has been reported since TMZ uncovered the initial lawsuit, but the hot sauce branding snafu isn’t the first time a tongue-in-cheek cannabis brand has been taken to court for their unoriginality, with sellers of Girl Scout Cookies and Gorilla Glue strains being forced to change their names, while Colorado-based Honest Herbal is still fighting Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. brand over the name of their CBD company.
But if you thought that was as deep as the hot sauce lawsuit goes, you’d be wrong.
Past the official Tapatio lawsuit, a quick dive into social media has uncovered a completely separate infused sauce maker claiming to be the original “Trapatio.”
While Instagram user @Daddyfatsacksz (who we can only assume is Granados) appears to be the proprietor of the company being sued by Tapatio, Instagrammer @BodegaTreats posted a photo earlier today of a different Trapatio bottle boasting the same name but a slightly reworked logo that looks significantly less like the corporate condiment.
In a comment on Instagram, @BodegaTreats mocks the cease and desist recipient, writing “This guy didn't listen to me when I told him stand down. Haha. Your lawyer told you run it? Your team thought it was cool? You blew it baby boy.”
It certainly appears that one company foresaw some legal issues while the other did not, flying blindly by the seat of their pants into the ever-changing world of legal weed.
Since his initial comments to the kings of paparazzi, Granados has changed his tune slightly, posting to the Gram: “Msg to TAPATIO. If we can’t get money w/ you then FUCK you!”
We’re guessing that one won’t go over well with his lawyers.
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