Old Bay Makers Are Coming for 'New Bae' Seasoning in Lawsuit
When your ex-flame gets a new bae, you might privately hope for their relationship to fail, but you can rarely do anything about a new bae when you’re the old bae. But McCormick, the company that makes Old Bay seasoning, is publicly calling for another spice maker’s “New Bae” seasoning to get out of town.
McCormick sent a cease-and-desist letter to Primal Palate, the company that created “New Bae” seasoning — which is just bay seasoning named with what Primal Palate calls “a terrible pun” for the millennial term “before anyone else.”
According to Bloomberg, Primal Palate ignored McCormick’s letter, and now McCormick has taken the Pittsburgh-based spice startup to court. It’s like something out of an episode of Judge Judy. New Bae vs. Old Bay.
McCormick claims that “New Bae” is confusing to consumers who might think that the McCormick spice and the Primal Palate spice have something to do with each other. The well-established brand is worried that Primal Palate’s product will ruin their good name with their joke; according to Grub Street, McCormick is asking that “New Bae” be pulled from the market, that all remaining products be destroyed, and that Primal Palate give McCormick the money they made from selling the mix.
“Old Bay is obviously a respected, revered brand in American cupboards. We never had any intention of confusion. Everything is spelled differently, it looks different,” Bill Staley founder of Primal Palate told The Washington Post.
“We don’t think we’re doing anything wrong here,” Staley continued. “This is a product we think can coexist in the marketplace. The target audience for them doesn’t have a lot of overlap.”
The Daily Meal has reached out to McCormick and Primal Palate for a comment on the matter, but whether you’re using Old Bay or New Bae, you should be replacing your spices more often than you probably do. Check out the nine things every home cook should know about spices.
