Cape May and Wawa Sued Over Shore Tea Hard Tea Trademark
A lawsuit has been filed against New Jersey-based Cape May Brewing and the convenience chain Wawa, over the companies’ collaborative hard tea brand, Shore Tea.
Cape May and Wawa announced Shore Tea – a 4.5% ABV hard tea inspired by Wawa’s peach iced tea – on July 18. Launched as a limited release on July 21, the hard tea is available in 12 oz. can 6-packs priced at $12.99.
Less than a month after Shore Tea’s release, Jeff Plate, an attorney and co-founder of Asbury Park, New Jersey-based Asbury Park Brewery, has filed a lawsuit against the two companies, alleging that he “created the Shore Tea brand almost two years prior and solicited the concept to Cape May earlier in 2022.”
Plate claimed he started developing his own Shore Tea concept in 2020, but plans were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A trademark for Shore Tea flavored malt beverages was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in August 2018 by Asbury Park, with Plate listed as the attorney of record, but the filing was abandoned in November, 2019, according to trademark records.
In March 2022, Plate sold his share at Asbury Park Brewery “to explore new projects” and started developing Shore Tea as a separate brand, according to a press release. On May 17, Plate filed a new trademark for Shore Tea, categorized as alcoholic malt beverages, except beers, according to USPTO records. After the filing, “designing branding and packaging materials, and securing a website,” Plate proposed a partnership to Cape May to help launch Shore Tea hard tea, according to the release.
“I thought their company would be a good fit, and believing I was protected, I sent them all of the confidential information regarding the concept and branding for Shore Tea,” Plate said.
In late May, Cape May informed Plate they would not move forward with the product, Plate said. He was then “shocked” in July, when Cape May and Wawa announced their Shore Tea product.
“I can’t speak to what Cape May did or why they did it,” Plate said in the release. “I just know I’ve been developing this idea for years, presented it to them, and then they released what appears to be an identical product months after cutting me loose.”
Cape May has denied Plate’s claims, as the company said it began developing its hard tea product “more than six months ago,” with the Shore Tea name finalized in February 2022, and brand packaging finalized and ordered in March, “more than two months ahead of the May 2022 phone discussion with the Mr. Plate about his concept,” a spokesperson for Cape May told Brewbound.
“The claims that our Shore Tea product, name, branding or packaging were developed in imitation of anything from any third party are groundless,” the spokesperson said. “In line with the industry’s current supply chain challenges and timelines for material and packaging, the development of Cape May’s Shore Tea in collaboration with Wawa began more than six months ago and the anticipated launch date was set for mid-July – well before Mr. Plate contacted us.
“Company leadership contacted Mr. Plate via email, thanking him for his interest in working with Cape May Brewing Company and communicating that we unfortunately could not move forward with him as we already had a product in the works that would be in the market very soon,” the spokesperson continued. “In fact, we provided documentary proof to Mr. Plate’s attorney prior to the lawsuit showing that the labels were ordered in March 2022 – yet Mr. Plate insists on pursuing baseless litigation, which we intend to defend vigorously.”
Cape May’s first batch of Shore Tea sold out “quickly” last month, according to Friday’s Cape May newsletter. A second batch – released today at the brewery’s New Jersey tasting room – is expected to do the same, with cases limited to one per person, the company wrote.
Mexico President Calls for End to Beer Production in Northern Region
The production of beer in northern Mexico is “over,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a press conference Monday, according to Bloomberg.
Northern Mexico has been battling one of the country’s worst droughts in 30 years, according to Reuters. The region is home to production facilities for Heineken and Grupo Modelo (Anheuser-Busch InBev). If those companies “want to keep producing beer,” or “increasing production,” then they must do so in the south or southeast of Mexico, Lopez Obrador said.
Mexico is the world’s largest beer exporter, but has pushed back against some beer producers in the past over production impacts on the country’s water supply and inhabitants. In May 2020, Constellation Brands was forced to halt construction of a brewery in Mexicali, after the $1.4 billion project was rejected by local voters. The stoppage resulted in an impairment charge between $650 million to $680 million, according to Constellation in its Q1 2022 earnings report.
In December, Constellation reached an agreement with the Mexican government to construct a facility in Veracruz, a port city in the southeast region of the country, the Wall Street Journal reported. However, the company has yet to build anything on the site and is still waiting on permits, El Financiero newspaper reported.
Consumer Price Index for Beer +4.6% in July
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer increased +4.6% in July 2022 compared to July 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported earlier this week. The July CPI for beer lagged behind the CPI for all items during the same period, which was up +8.5%, marking an improvement over the 12-month period ending June 2022 (+9.1%).
The CPI measures the average price change over time paid by consumers for goods and services. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for beer increased +0.5% from June to July 2022, an improvement from the +0.9% increase from May to June 2022.
In July, the CPI for beer continued to outpace spirits (+1.9%) and wine (+2.3%), compared to July 2021, the BLS reported.
Over the last three months, the CPI increased for beer +5% in April, +4.5% in May and +4.3% in June.
The overall CPI held steady in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, on the heels of a +1.3% increase in June, the BLS reported.
Drizly: Micheladas and Scofflaw Brewing Among Beer’s Growth Winners in July
Michelada offerings were the breakout stars of the beer category on Drizly last month, according to the e-commerce alcohol delivery platform’s July 2022 sales report.
The beer segment labeled “spice/herb/vegetable beer” was the fastest-growing beer segment on the platform in July – the second time this year, after topping the list in February – led by SKUs such as Modelo Chelada Especial, Modelo Chelada Limon y Sal, Budweiser Chelada Picante with Clamato, Modelo Chelada Piña Picante and Estrella Jalisco/Golden Road Brewing Mango Michelada.
Atlanta-based Scofflaw Brewing recorded the largest brand growth in the beer category, led by its Basement IPA, POG Basement IPA and hard seltzer 16 oz. variety 12-pack. Drizly noted that alcohol delivery has only been legal in Scofflaw’s home state of Georgia since August 2020.
Orange wine – the base for beverage alcohol offerings such as BeatBox hard punch and Loverboy canned cocktails – was the fastest-growing wine segment on the platform last month, recording “significant” year-over-year growth for the first time since September 2021, according to the report. The segment was most popular internationally, with consumers in Spain accounting for 35% of the segment’s total sales on Drizly, followed by Austria (23%), Italy (18%) and the U.S. (14%).
JuneShine to Open Brooklyn Location
JuneShine, the San Diego-headquartered hard kombucha and canned cocktail maker, plans to open a tasting room in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood in October, the company shared.
JuneShine co-founder Greg Serrao teased the company’s first brick-and-mortar facility outside of its home state of California, during a conversation with Brewbound in November 2021, following the completion of a $24 million Series B funding round. At the time he said the location would likely be in the Northeast, and open in early Q2 2022.
Additional details to come.