A judge has sided with Kraft Foods Group in its effort to get Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. to stop selling packaged meat and cheese in grocery stores, alleging its infringes on a long-standing trademark.
Monday’s decision temporarily blocks Cracker Barrel’s sale of those products. Cracker Barrel signed a licensing deal in November that aimed to vastly expand its products in grocery stores. Kraft first filed suit in Illinois in February.
Kraft has held a trademark for the name Cracker Barrel since 1957, the ruling said, more than a decade before the first Cracker Barrel restaurant and store opened. Kraft has its Cracker Barrel products in more than 16,000 stores with sales topping $130 million a year.
The judge in the case said that while the two labels do have differentiating factors, they are similar enough to possibly confuse consumers.
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Cracker Barrel is eligible to appeal. The ruling was first reported by The Tennessean in Nashville.
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