Бизнес «Barbecue Mafia» требует от Royal Queensland Show удалить конкурента с похожим названием

A Brisbane barbecue business is beefing with a similarly named vendor at the Royal Queensland Show, claiming the food truck is causing confusion among its customers. Coorparoo-based Barbecue Mafia this week said customers of the BBQ Mafia food truck, stationed at the Ekka show, had mistaken that vendor’s food for its own. Mitch Scrivener, operations manager at Barbecue Mafia, told SmartCompany the business was first alerted to the Ekka food truck by a show visitor. “People are saying on social media, ‘Hey, we thought it was you, and we bought it, and we asked for you, and you weren’t there,’” he said. “And so people think it’s us, even though it’s not us, and even though we have a well-established brand.” Barbecue Mafia does occasionally operate a food truck, but has never exhibited at the Ekka, said Scrivener. Some customers appear to have confused the businesses in Google reviews, prompting Barbecue Mafia to publicly distance itself from the BBQ Mafia food truck on social media. “If [customers] haven’t seen the social media post, they think it’s us,” he said, fearing mistaken online reviews could cause visitors to reconsider their visit to Barbecue Mafia. If those reviews reach enough would-be customers, the “word-of-mouth, and the brand that we built, and the social media presence that we’ve built, is all for nothing,” added Scrivener. Barbecue Mafia has a registered and protected trademark over the ‘Barbecue Mafia’ name, which was first accepted in 2018. Scrivener said the business is considering its legal options regarding the trademark. Name and flame BBQ Mafia itself appears to be one of 18 active brand names linked to Special Events & Catering Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based business providing services to Sydney Olympic Park. The Australian Business Register states the ‘BBQ Mafia’ name itself was first registered in June this year. SmartCompany has contacted Special Events & Venue Catering for comment. Meanwhile, as Barbecue Mafia distances itself from the Ekka exhibitor, some commenters have defended the food truck business by saying the brands are discernibly different. The BBQ Mafia truck appears to use yellow and red colouring for its signage, while Barbecue Mafia’s own logo uses a simpler black and white design. ‘Mafia’ itself is commonly used in restaurant and hospitality business names, with unrelated brands like Mafia Buns and Food Mafia listed on the Australian Business Register’s ABN lookup tool. Nevertheless, Scrivener said the two brands in question still sound identical when spoken, which could heighten confusion. “We’ve run ads on Triple M with the mafia theme,” he said. “Our shirts, our merch have [a] mafia theme on it. That’s been us from day dot.” The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA), which organises the Ekka, has distanced itself from the matter. “The RNA doesn’t comment on private matters between businesses,” a spokesperson said, in a statement provided to SmartCompany on Friday. “Trademark disputes between individual businesses are a matter for them to resolve or for Intellectual Property (IP) Australia – the Federal Government Agency – to manage.” Stay in the know Never miss a story: sign up to SmartCompany’s free daily newsletter and find our best stories on LinkedIn.