Trademark Fight Escalates As Small, Local Coffee Company Battles Global Giant Over Right To Use Its Brand
SEATTLE (July 9, 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.”
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, Seattle Strong has continued to work on growing its business. Over the past year, the company has expanded throughout the West Coast with new retail and distribution partners; strengthened its operations for future growth; launched a new five-liter bag-in-box cold brew product for offices, foodservice and home use; and showcased its products at industry trade shows in New York, Los Angeles and Portland.
“We’re still growing and working hard to succeed as a small business. This fight isn’t just ours,” Oeflein added. “It’s for every small business that’s been told to move aside by a larger competitor. We don’t believe any company should be able to tell Seattle businesses they can’t proudly represent the city they call home. Nestlé may have decided to escalate, but we’ve decided to keep fighting. We may be small, but after a year of this fight, we’ve learned something important: We’re not standing alone. Seattle stands strong.”
Small, Local Coffee Brand Battles Global Giant Over Right to Use Its Name
SEATTLE (June 25, 2025) – Today, Seattle Strong Coffee Co. announced the launch of a GoFundMe campaign to help fund its legal battle against Nestlé, which is seeking to cancel the company’s trademark for Seattle Strong. In a modern-day David vs. Goliath battle brewing in the heart of the coffee capital, Seattle Strong Coffee Co., a startup born from a college project at the University of Washington in 2017, is taking on multinational corporation Nestlé to protect the name that defines its brand, city and story.
Nestlé, which acquired Seattle’s Best Coffee in 2022, recently filed a legal petition to cancel Seattle Strong’s trademark, claiming the company’s name infringes on its rights for Seattle’s Best. But for Seattle Strong’s founders, the name represents more than just a brand, as it’s their origin, their identity and their connection to the city that shaped them.
“We didn’t set out to take on a global corporation, we set out to make great coffee that represents our home,” said founder Evan Oeflein. “But when a monolithic corporation like Nestlé tries to take away our right to call ourselves ‘Seattle Strong,’ we have no choice but to stand up. The only overlap between Seattle’s Best and Seattle Strong is the word Seattle. We built this company from the ground up in the city we love, and we won’t back down.”
What was initially intended to be a class project out of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business in the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship’s Create a Company program has evolved into a full-fledged company. After the team graduated in June 2018, the company became a full-time business. Seattle Strong offers ready-to-drink cold brew coffee made in Seattle and available at local Whole Foods, Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, Town & Country, Rosauers, Haggen, and other locations – including Central Market (HEB) in Texas and Lassens in Southern California.
“This fight isn’t just ours, it’s for every small business that’s ever been told to get out of the way. It’s about who gets to claim ownership of the name of our city,” Oeflein added. “We don’t believe any company, especially one based over 5,000 miles away in Switzerland, should be able to tell Seattleites they can’t use the name ‘Seattle.’ We may be small, but we’re backed by a community that believes in standing strong.”
With Nestlé reporting more than $13 billion in profits last year alone, Seattle Strong is relying on the support of its customers and supporters of small businesses to stand up against the corporate titan. People can help by sharing the story on social media, donating to the GoFundMe campaign and purchasing Seattle Strong cold brew at local retailers.
