Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
I thought there already was a Hot Maple. They did a Kickstarter too. Am I having dejavu?
Well, there is... and that's me (but I didn't kickstart).
First, hello / thanks from everyone that sent me emails concerned that my brand may be getting poached a bit. The name Hotmaple / Hot Maple vs Blazing maple is indeed a bit, confusing. So much so that I've received quite a few emails from concerned customers - and I figure this may be a good forum to address a new company starting with a similar name. Hence my creation of an account here to discuss this a bit with everyone in the community.
First off - Hotmaple is protected name already:
https://trademarks.justia.com/862/38/hotmaple-86238435.html as is/are all variants as described. As for the judgement call on similarity - It ultimately will be up to the US patent office to determine if "Blazing Maple" is an infringement on grammatical likeness. That is not for me to decide, I filed my paperwork and paid the fees... and ultimately the USPTO will make a call if/when Blazing Maple applies for trademark - if they desire.
On similarities in Product - In general, all hot sauces are similar. I don't know if I was one of the first to use maple syrup as an ingredient, but as we all know - only a process can be protected - not a recipe. I have faith in the hard food science and engineering behind my product being such that it is not easily replicated, even with the same ingredients.
There is a lot of room in the market - I'm not here to stop anyone from following their dreams and making a product. Seeing that these guys are in New Hampshire, a land of Maple goodness... I am betting they legitimately created the concept without any thought that some guy on the left coast (me) was out there. Creativity is the true spice of life... and I think they are legit. A lot of my fans are saying I should pursue some sort to legal action against them... and this is not something I wish to do. I didn't start Hotmaple Foods to crush / kill / destroy the hopes and dreams of a younger generation. We are all friends in hot sauce land... we support and help each other. Lets give Blazing maple a chance.
My only wish - is that Blazing Maple continues to find their own voice in both marketing and presentation, as I know they will. Being on opposite ends of the US, both our companies will very likely end up with very different products / markets / customers. If we ever both get big enough where we compete for space -- I am sure we'll find a way to work it out.
I applaud any new US made sauce coming to market, as it it only strengthens what we do best in America --- INNOVATE.
Best Wishes
Matthew Hilla
Owner
Hotmaple Foods, LLC
