The Food Law Firm has distinct, institutional experience in working with  food and supplement start-ups, and is acutely aware of just how precious  start-up funds are. A start-up needs to identify priorities, but also sequence the efforts for max effect.   Prioritize Trademarks and Branding. IP protection for food and supplement businesses can’t be overstated. A business without a good trademark registration, is  simply not building a brand with any value. A thorough Availability Opinion is a top priority. An Availability Opinion will help to identify and presage potential ..read more

As we covered on our private label agreements page, the two most important features of a trademark application are the name of the trademark and the descriptions of the goods that will bear the mark. Because of this feature of trademark law, private label marketers with multi-product brands need to develop their trademark portfolio carefully and methodically. Trademarks that Contemplate Brand Growth. A thorough availability opinion is essential for any trademark application. To conduct the availability research, we look at the words in the proposed mark (and its related permutations) as they a ..read more

We’ve covered the basics of private label agreements on our services page and in our nifty Key Ingredients to a Successful Private Labeling infographic (see below) . These are great resources for single-product private label arrangements. The basic risks addressed on these resources are also applicable to multi-product brands, but we re-organize our private label agreement template a little bit to make the brand easier for the marketer to manage. Or multi product brands, we advise clients to split the template private label agreement into two pieces. One portion of the agreement will be common ..read more

Starting your own food business is both exciting and difficult. And that means it will take equal parts enthusiasm and strategic thinking. We’ve been able to see and help so many people with the launch, growth, and movement of their food businesses. No matter the type of food business, there are so many different areas and stages to keep track of, from inventory management to legal paperwork. While each business’ needs are unique, there are definitely some overlapping procedures that just about every food business will have to plan for. So we’ve created a helpful “Prep List” to consider before ..read more