Kraft Heinz Australia will pay a $9.25 million settlement to Bega Cheese, as the lengthy legal proceedings in relation to Bega’s peanut butter products nears the end.
In November 2020, Bega won a case against Kraft Heinz Australia, which had argued Bega rebranding Kraft Peanut Butter with its moniker was a violation of its intellectual property rights.
Bega had purchased the Kraft factory in 2017 – where the category-leading product was made – from Mondēlez International as part of its $460 million acquisition of most of Mondēlez’ ANZ grocery business, including Vegemite, cheese, and mayonnaise.
In February, the Victorian Supreme Court has ruled Bega Cheese is permitted to use the Bega trademark on products outside the scope of the licence Fonterra has for Bega branded cheese and butter products.
In an announcement to the ASX this week, Bega said it had entered a confidential settlement with Kraft Heinz surrounding monetary relief and legal costs, and “all outstanding issues between the parties regarding the right to use the peanut butter trade dress and the legal proceedings have been resolved”.
Once the receipt of the payment is received, legal proceedings will be discontinued.
“Bega Cheese looks forward to continuing to produce and supply our much-loved peanut butter products. We are a proud Australian company and are proud to own Australia’s favourite peanut butter,” the company said.
Bega ranked in at #24 in Australia’s Top 100 Food & Drink Companies 2020 report.
