September 18, 2023 (Louisville, KY) Hall’s Beer Cheese, the iconic Bluegrass staple widely considered as the original beer cheese spread recipe, filed a lawsuit in Federal Court on September 8th against Family Fresh Pack (Freshpack), the Brand’s Wisconsin-based co-manufacturer since 2015. The filing comes after several months of requests from Hall’s Beer Cheese, seeking the Brand’s most recent modifications to the manufacturing Formulas from Freshpack to validate all aspects of production and ingredients used in their popular spreads.
The filing outlines ownership of the Hall’s Beer Cheese Formulas, purchased by the Brand for the Products which have been in commercial production for over 30 years and distributed by other companies throughout the US, and specifically states “these Formulas were confidentially shared with Freshpack for production purposes, where Freshpack, in turn, worked with Hall’s principals to modify the process, on behalf of Hall’s, to produce said products on the equipment Freshpack had available as a co-manufacturer”. The suit further states that despite Freshpack’s involvement in the modification of the Formulas, the Formulas remain Hall’s trade secret.
The lawsuit is a result of Freshpack’s recent refusal to comply with validation requests and its allegation that it owns all of Hall’s recipes, despite the signed agreements and documents provided with the complaint that are contrary to these claims. Included in the lawsuit are additional allegations of inappropriate actions taken by Freshpack to the detriment of Hall’s.
"We view the co-packer partnership to be a synergy built on trust and adherence to longstanding agreements. Breach of this trust by a partner has the potential to erode confidence across the entire sector. We have made every attempt to avoid legal action in the hopes that Freshpack would correct this. We are deeply disappointed and frankly, astonished. Our assessment is that Freshpack’s invalid claim of ownership is a possible stall tactic to avoid fulfillment of standard validation requests. If this is the case, we have serious concerns about what exactly they are attempting to conceal from us that requires such desperate measures. Given what has transpired, Freshpack has left us with no other choice but to seek legal remedy to protect our Brand and Intellectual Property.”
– Kit Crase, Majority Owner of Hall’s Beer Cheese
About Hall's Beer Cheese:
What started as a spicy appetizer enjoyed by Central Kentuckians dining by the Kentucky River has developed into an internationally recognized brand. With earned placements in national publications like Taste of the South, Southern Living, The Wall Street Journal, Food Network, and VinePair, Hall’s enjoys a wide geography of consumer fans and is viewed by the industry as the pioneer for this consumable goods category.
The expanding suite of products from America’s best-selling beer cheese includes Benedictine, Savory Pimento, and Hot-n-Snappy, a snappier variety of the Original. Hall’s spreads can be found on shelves at Kroger, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, Liquor Barn, Hy-Vee, Circle K, and beercheese.com.
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