Cocktail Business

[CocktailMan]

Hi all!

I am in the process of setting up a small business making and selling bottled cocktails. However, I am unsure as to whether I will be required to seek permission from large brands to use their products within my own. I have tried to look into this online but am struggling to find an answer, and the brands I have already emailed to ask have not responded to me. Does anyone have any suggestions or any ideas that may answer my question or as to where I can look to find this information out.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mattymoomoo]

No idea why no one responded. Are you still trying? If its on the back burner i would assume you are not well funded, in which case do it through a limited company and dont ask. What have you got to lose? they can ask you to stop, but by then hopefully you know how successful your product is.

FYI i probably wouldnt plaster or advertise it all over your product. If you do, their lawyers will be in touch much sooner as you will be trying to leverage off their brand.

The reality is if using big quantities its cheaper to modify your own, unless they are sponsoring you.

 

[Matt Rumbelow]

I would be tempted to just go in on the 'forgiveness, not permission' in regards to this.

Firstly, there are a lot of brands that do this with cases of beer and, secondly, I used to work for a company that sold boxes of books in grades (say 20x fiction books aimed at 12-year-olds) and this was never a problem. I think the idea of a product that is a collection of other products is common enough not to be a problem.

The main thing to avoid would be making it look like they support or endorse what you're doing.