2023-11-16 18:46:53
‘We have a soft spot for ridiculous product names in the bakery’, baker Ulrika Menig writes with a wink on Instagram in 2020. The photo next to her text shows a filled croissant. Dipped in pink icing. ‘That’s why we have a very nice special on the menu this week: The Crompouce.’
Fast forward to 2023. The extremely popular cross between a croissant and tompouce can now be found in almost every bakery. Large supermarket chains such as Jumbo and Albert Heijn also have the delicacy on their shelves. Influencers travel across town and country to try out the baking. Much to the frustration of many. Because even though her own bakery closed its doors in December 2021, she already established the crompouce as a brand name three years ago.
Infringement
“A very important detail has been lost in the recent revival of my product,” Menig wrote on Instagram this week. ‘The product and brand name Crompouce may not be used without permission from the official developer, myself. And action will certainly be taken against infringements of this right.’
Dozens of bakers and supermarket chains have received a letter from her lawyers. Justifiably? Certainly, says marketing lawyer Charlotte Meindersma of Charlotte’s Law. Because Menig has registered the brand name, no one is allowed to market bread or pastries under the name crompouce, says Meindersma. If this does happen, the creator may claim damages. For example, in the form of a (yet to be determined) percentage profit contribution.
Anyone who wants to continue making the crompouce can offer Menig a license. She also receives financial compensation for this, says Meindersma. Setting strict requirements for the appearance of the product is not possible, says the lawyer. “The product is not distinctive enough for that.”
TikTok-rage
Henk-Jan van Maanen from Bakker van Maanen received such a letter two weeks ago. Van Maanen had already been causing a stir for weeks with the crompouce on TikTok and Instagram. His variant was now known on TikTok as the ‘viral crompouce’. “I finally got the viral crompouce. I even dreamed about it,” says one of the TikTok videos.
But in that letter, Van Maanen was told that he either had to stop selling crompouces or that the brand name holder had to compensate Many financially. And while his also extremely popular pop-up store in Amsterdam, The House of Crompouce, had yet to open its doors.
Van Maanen chose the latter. He reached a settlement with Menig and has a license that allows him to continue selling the crompouce under the same name. Too bad, says the baker, who would have preferred to take over the trademark rights. “It is actually better for the product to keep it alive. I think many bakers are now going to stop or give it a different name. This was actually something positive. Especially for bakers who have already had to deal with the energy crisis and the raw materials crisis.”
It remains to be seen whether other crompouce makers will also drop out after the threatening lawyer’s letter. Van Maanen has already carefully taken the latest hit: the pistachio crompouce. With chocolate, pistachios and Swiss cream. “It works very well.”
Also read:
How one review on TikTok turned the crompouce into a culinary craze
Social media has catapulted the crompouce, a mix of croissant and tompouce, into a culinary hype. A welcome comfort in times of gloom about war and other misery? ‘In uncertain times, people tend to turn to comfort food.’
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