Bethenny Frankel is on a Skinnygirl warpath (Battle accessories coming soon to the Bravo Home Shopping Network!) and taking a tea company to court for knocking off her brand!
The Real Housewives Of New York star may be vacillating about whether or not she’ll continue on Housewives, but Bethenny is not vacillating about protecting her Skinnygirl business endeavors!
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Bethenny’s company, SG Marks (which owns the trademark for Skinnygirl) filed a lawsuit against Travis and Stacey Labarge, the creators of a product called, ironically, SkinnyGirl Tea. Their SkinnyGirl Tea is a natural drink which they say helps you lose weight. The company’s YouTube channel boasts a ton of positive reviews.
A promotion from SkinnyGirl Tea’s instagram. [Credit: Instagram]
SkinnyGirl Tea has a range of products from detoxes to daily appetite suppressant teas, and their instagram feed promotes an overall healthy lifestyle – including using the tea to help with fitness goals. It’s unclear how long the company has been in business, but their website is now inactive.
Bethenny’s new Skinnygirl Tea and Coffee line. [Credit: Instagram]
Bethenny’s Skinnygirl product range also includes teas, detoxes and cleanses. SG Marks Skinnygirl suit alleges that Travis and Stacey, the owners of the so-called duplicate SkinnyGirl Tea, are guilty of ripping off Bethenny’s brand. Bethenny’s suit also argues that the success and fame of her products propelled the success of the knockoff brand, which is “piggybacking” off the very lucrative Skinnygirl original flavor.
Bethenny believes the Labarges are profiting from her handwork and branding. (And possibly also creating confusion in the market.)
The original Skinnygirl is requesting the name ‘Skinnygirl’ be removed from all the Labarges‘ products. Bethenny is also seeking monetary damages.
Skinnygirl has been in and out of court a lot over the years – Bethenny’s ex-manager sued her (they settled out of court) and a few disgruntled Jill Zarin fans customers sued her for making false claims that her cocktails were ‘all natural’.
SkinnyGirl Tea’s packaging. [Credit: Twitter]
Travis Labarge argues that the name of their tea company is “completely coincidental”. He tells TMZ they decided on the product name based on the results of “Google keywords for weight loss tea” and claim they had no idea about the existence of Bethenny’s Skinnygirl brands. Uh… yeah right!
TELL US – DOES BETHENNY HAVE A VALID SUIT AGAINST SKINNYGIRL TEA?
[Main Photo Credit: Instagram]
