Drama Spills Over From TV Show to Coffee Case
Life is imitating art in some ways, with a brand showdown between the head of the popular “Yellowstone” series and an actor on the television show. The controversy is percolating between creator Taylor Sheridan and one of the stars, Cole Hauser.
Hauser recently co-founded a line of coffee under the Free Rein Coffee Co. brand. Sold online, the collection includes six blends available in whole bean, ground and pod form.
[Read more: “‘Yellowstone’ Food Line Debuts More Cowboy-Inspired Products”]
Sheridan, meanwhile, partnered with Louisiana-based CPG brand Community Coffee and Keurig to roll out a line of Bosque Ranch craft coffee. That coffee is sold online and on Amazon.com.
According to a report in USA Today, Bosque Ranch filed a lawsuit in a Texas court on Nov. 21, citing copyright infringement and false advertising. Bosque Ranch alleges that the logos are remarkably similar, among other complaints.
Both Bosque Ranch and Free Rein play up the cowboy angle, taking a cue from the Yellowstone series that has been mired in its own production controversy heading into its final year. “The one thing as essential to the Cowboy as his boots and saddle is coffee. It is our fuel. Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee is bold yet smooth and meant to be sipped all day. And sometimes all night” the Bosque Ranch site declares.
Free Rein’s website also connects coffee and cowboys, noting that Hauser was “inspired by how tough they are, how hard they work, and most of all how much coffee they drink. So, he decided to make a coffee brand that embodied the spirit of the West. That embodied the dreamer’s mindset and callused hands of those cowboys he admired.”
There’s even more Yellowstone-related coffee options for consumers who want to drink like the fictional Dutton family. The show’s production studio, Paramount, recently teamed with FoodStory brands to introduce a line of several products for sale at U.S. grocery stores, including Yellowstone Coffee made with 100% Arabica coffee beans in pods and beans. That assortment is sold at Walmart, Kroger, Amazon, H-E-B and select Albertsons-owned stores.
