Saskatoon hummus maker gets to keep brand name after two year dispute

SASKATOON – A mutual agreement will allow a Saskatoon-based brand of hummus to keep its name after a two-year long battle with the underwear giant Hanes Inc., according to its owner and founder. The understanding was reached in early December, according to Yohannes Petros, who created Hanes Hummus five years ago.

He was served a cease and desist order from Hanes Inc. in December of 2013, stating his brand was “confusingly similar” to theirs.

READ MORE: Local hummus maker takes on corporate underwear giant

“It made life a little bit more challenging in terms of the possibility of having to change it,” said Petros in an interview Wednesday.

“Throughout this whole process I didn’t have any expectations, obviously I knew what I wanted but it wasn’t guaranteed.”

Petros said his friends call him “Hanes,” which is where his brand name originates. He said he was “ecstatic” when the news came from his lawyers that an agreement had been reached, but wouldn’t detail the parameters of the compromise.

“Two years later, it’s a long time to be involved in any kind of conflict and to come out on top and get to keep the name, it’s a good feeling,” he said.

“I know that I can move ahead and continue to grow my business without that fear of ‘what if?’”

When business owners like Petros become tangled up in naming disputes with big corporations, it usually doesn’t end in their favour, according to marketing expert David Williams.

“Normally the small guy doesn’t get his way because it’s a matter of size and jurisdiction and just time and effort,” said Williams, who is an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

“It’s a matter of survival for the small business person, but for the big company, they have a whole legal department and it’s not a big issue,” he added.

If Petros would have been forced to re-brand his product, it could have erased years of marketing efforts, according to Williams.

“You’ve been known and you’ve built this identity up and this affinity and he’s got shelf space and he’s known for the brand and his personality and it really is like starting from scratch again,” said Williams.

“It’s possible, but it would be hard to do.”

Now Petros says he is able to focus solely on growing his brand, which recently found its way into all of Co-op’s western Canadian grocery stores, under a name that likely won’t change any time soon.

“The goal is to make Hanes Hummus become a national food brand,” said Petros.

“That’s the ultimate goal.”