Startup CPG Newswire:
Seattle Strong continues fight against Nestlé as dispute escalates
PRESS RELEASE — NEWS PROVIDED BY Evan Oeflein for Seattle Strong Coffee Co.
SEATTLE, WA (JULY 2026) — Today, Seattle Strong Coffee Co. announced the relaunch of its GoFundMe campaign to help fund its ongoing legal battle against Nestlé in response to escalations with a second case against Seattle Strong’s logo. The recent filing expands the scope of the trademark dispute beyond the name to target the whole brand. The local cold brew company is doubling down on its commitment to fight for its Seattle-grown identity and the business it has been building since 2017. After extended proceedings, settlement negotiations and mounting legal costs, the dispute remains unresolved, prompting Seattle Strong to once again turn to the community that has supported its business from the beginning.
The dispute began when Nestlé, which acquired Seattle’s Best Coffee in 2022, challenged Seattle Strong’s federally registered trademark in April 2025, alleging the company’s name infringes on its SBC trademark rights. In March 2026, Nestlé escalated the dispute by filing a second case challenging Seattle Strong’s logo, broadening the dispute beyond the company’s name to its overall brand. Despite more than a year of negotiations, the parties have not reached a resolution.
“This isn’t just about Seattle Strong,” said founder Evan Oeflein, “it’s about whether or not local companies can represent the communities they serve and whether a Switzerland-based multi-billion-dollar conglomerate can effectively own and control the name of Seattle. If Nestlé ultimately prevails, we could be forced to abandon the brand we’ve spent nearly a decade building in our hometown. We also believe this could lay the foundation for it to happen in other cities across the United States and hurt the local businesses that call those cities home.”
One year into a modern-day David vs. Goliath battle brewing in the heart of the coffee capital, Seattle Strong, a startup born from a University of Washington class project, continues to stand up to multinational corporation Nestlé to protect the name that defines its brand, its city and its story.
“We’ve negotiated in good faith every step of the way in order to resolve this case in a reasonable way,” Oeflein said. “We’re just as committed today as we were a year ago to protecting the brand we’ve spent nine years building. This isn’t just about our company. It’s about whether small businesses can proudly represent the communities where they’re built.”
About Seattle Strong Coffee Co.
Seattle Strong Coffee Co. is a craft cold brew company born from a passion for Seattle’s coffee culture and a mission to create refreshingly smooth, ready-to-drink cold brew. Founded in early 2017 through the Create a Company program at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, Seattle Strong has grown from a classroom project into a rapidly expanding beverage company. Its cold brew is crafted without cream, sugar or additives and is available at retailers all along the West Coast.
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