My Food Bag delivers a hearty ‘Yeah, Nah’ to German-multinational corporation
My Food Bag has given German-multinational corporation HelloFresh a lesson in how Kiwis roll after the global bigwigs
threatened legal action over use of the word ‘hello’.
The Kiwi company received a cease and desist letter from HelloFresh, instructing them to stop using the word ‘Hello’ in
marketing Fresh Start with Nadia. And threatening their big global law firm “Bird & Bird” as next step, should their demand not be met. Now, who said Germans weren’t funny?
The Germans may have invented the hole punch and you know, stuff like nuclear fission and automobiles (good shout, by
the way), but their intellectual property rights don’t extend to common greetings.
Heck, that would mean cutting out half of Adele’s song if it did.
Cecilia Robinson, Founder & Director of My Food Bag says the company was bemused the multinational corporation took the time to write and hopes the
cost of postage from Germany didn’t break the bank.
“Who would’ve thought a simple ‘hello’ could get you in so much trouble? This is a word we have used in our
communications with customers since we first launched My Food Bag in 2013 – surprising as that may be – and we will
continue to do so,” says Robinson.
Just to get that point across, the good folk at My Food Bag penned a friendly note kindly telling our mates in
Deutschland to jog on.
Kia ora Herr Griesel and Herr Ries,
Greetings from Aotearoa.
We don’t often get heavyweight German multinational corporations taking the time to write to us Kiwis. Ka pai. It’s
pretty cool that you’ve heard of our awesome Fresh Start programme down here in NZ.
What’s not cool is you fellas trying to stop us saying ‘hello’ to our Fresh Start family. That’s just not the Kiwi way.
In fact, we thought you guys must be pulling our leg?! Down here in God’s Own, all of us have the right to say hello,
kia ora or g’day. Just ask Winston.
It sounds like something is weighing on your mind, so we’re sending you our Hello Fresh Start pack, so you can kick
start your health goals and say hello to a new you.
So in short we’ve decided “yeah, nah”, and we wish you fellas a good day. Otherwise our lawyers, Gumboot & Gumboot are always good for a yarn. They’re top draw red bands.
Haere rā,
The My Food Bag Family