Jaden Smith slams embattled vegan mayo maker and claims it copied his bottled-water brand
- Jaden Smith slammed Just - the vegan food maker formerly known as Hampton Creek - on Twitter on Tuesday.
- Smith argues that Just is copying the logo of his bottled-water brand, Just Water.
- The lawsuit, filed by Just Water parent company Just Goods in June 2017, argues that the rebrand violates a 2014 trademark agreement between the two companies.
Jaden Smith slammed Just - the company formerly known as Hampton Creek - for allegedly copying the branding of his bottled-water brand, Just Water, on Tuesday.
Smith tweeted: "So Now There Is A Company Trying Copy Our Logo, What A Sad Day. We Are #TheRealJust #BuildYourOwnBrand."
The tweet includes a screenshot from a lawsuit, filed by Just Water parent company Just Goods, comparing the branding between Just bottled water and Just cookie dough.
Some people who responded on Twitter were skeptical of Smith's argument.
Smith founded Just Goods with Drew Fitzgerald, an environmental activist who also works as a creative director at MIT, in 2015.
In 2015, Just - the vegan cookie dough maker - was going by the name Hampton Creek. The startup made a name for itself in 2013 with its eggless Just Mayo. The vegan food maker's product lines have since expanded to include Just Cookie Dough, Just Dressing, and Just Scramble.
The startup has since been hit by controversies, with since-dropped federal inquiries examining whether Hampton Creek inflated sales numbers and whether an egg-free mayo could legally be considered mayonnaise. In June 2017, Hampton Creek began changing its branding from Hampton Creek to just "Just," legally changing the company's name in early 2018.
The lawsuit, filed by Just Goods in June 2017 against Just and its CEO, Joshua Tetrick, argues that the rebrand violates a 2014 trademark agreement between the two companies that stipulated under what conditions each company could use the phrase "Just." Just Goods' demands include that the vegan food maker stop using the name Just, Inc. and adjust its use of the word "Just" in branding," as well as pay damages suffered by Just Goods as a result of the branding.
A Just representative told Business Insider that the vegan-food company does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Smith is tweeting about the lawsuit at a time when Just Water is in the spotlight, having launched a new line of flavored bottled water in March.
"I want to step into this water-bottle industry and revolutionize it in a way, because I'm thinking in a way that no one else is thinking," Smith told Business Insider in February.