Coffee war for Fuel Espresso, Starbucks

17 March 2003
By MATHEW LOH HO-SANG

A coffee war has erupted in Wellington (New Zealand), with local brewer Fuel Espresso threatening heavyweight rival Starbucks with legal action over alleged "branding sabotage".

The battle over trademarks started last year when Fuel Espresso founder and owner Sanjay Ponnapa saw a Starbucks promotion featuring the term "Summer Fuel".

"We've worked extremely hard to build brand awareness in Wellington since we started Fuel Espresso here in 1996," Mr Ponnapa said. "Therefore, I wasn't very happy late last year when I saw the new Starbucks ad campaign with the slogan 'Summer Fuel'.

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