Significant victory for FrieslandCampina: Chocomel yellow trademarked

FrieslandCampina has secured an exclusive trademark for the signature yellow color used on its Chocomel packaging. The decision, issued by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property, prevents the Spanish company Grupo Cacaolat from using the exact same shade of gold-yellow. The Dutch manufacturer argued that they have invested over ninety years into building their brand identity and accused their competitor of engaging in unfair free riding by adopting a nearly identical color scheme. While Cacaolat claimed their brown lettering distinguished their product from Chocomel’s blue branding, authorities found no convincing reason for their sudden shift to the specific Pantone PMS 116 yellow associated with the Dutch drink.

This ruling joins a rare group of successful color-based trademark protections, similar to the precedents set by Milka’s purple, Nivea’s blue, and UPS’s brown. The exclusivity for Chocomel-yellow currently applies specifically to chocolate milk and cocoa powder products rather than coffee, ice cream, or baked goods. While the decision prevents Cacaolat from obtaining their own trademark for the color, FrieslandCampina would need to initiate further legal action if they intend to force the removal of existing Cacaolat packaging from store shelves.