Duffgate: Bea's of Bloomsbury takes on Starbucks after the coffee giant 'ripped off' its Duffin
It’s a true story of David versus Goliath: a small London café has taken on Starbucks over the coffee giant’s latest baked product – ‘duffin’.
Earlier this week, Bea’s of Bloomsbury accused Starbucks of ripping off the muffin/doughnut hybrid idea, saying it was a bit “odd” that the Starbucks bakers came up with unique recipe and branding on their own.
The London coffee shop published the recipe in a book and has been selling it for at least three years.
Twitter erupted and Starbucks supplier, Rich Product, was forced to respond, claiming that it trademarked the ‘duffin’ name.
However, The Telegraph has reported that the July 3 application has yet to be approved and has merely been published “for comment”.
Starbucks UK said in a statement: "Since launching the Starbucks duffin, we have discovered there are other duffins out there."
Bea's of Bloomsbury has now launched a campaign around what has been dubbed 'Duffgate', offiering its "lovely loyal customers", who named the duffin, a 15 per cent online discount on its dozen duffins.