Protein bar battle brews in Utah
SPRINGVILLE, UTAH — Protein bar startup Blue Unicorn has rejected a lawsuit claiming its formulation came from proprietary trade information of rival bar maker Built Brands LLC.
American Fork, Utah-based Built Brands – maker of the Built Bar and Built Puff protein snacks – in November 2024 filed a suit in the US District Court for Utah that charged Springville-based Blue Unicorn with developing protein bar products “using the Built trade secrets.” The suit said the secrets also included “confidential and proprietary information pertaining to the production, preparation and manufacture of certain protein bar products.”
In response to the suit this week, Blue Unicorn called the claims unfounded and said its plant-based, dairy-free protein bars differ from Built’s whey protein bars. According to Blue Unicorn, its bars provide “an alternative to those who struggle with dairy intolerance,” among other attributes.
“Our product is fundamentally different from Built’s,” said Jason Christensen, founder and chief executive officer of Blue Unicorn, which launched in February 2024. “They make whey protein bars. We developed and produce a fluffy, plant-based protein bar that has the macronutrients of the best functional protein bars but tastes like a treat.”
He added, “Consumers deserve choices, and we’re here to provide them. This lawsuit won’t stop us from doing what we set out to do — bring innovative protein products to people whose needs aren’t being met with current options."
The dispute centers on an alleged comment at a local farmers’ market about the origin of Blue Unicorn’s products and on accusations of trade secret infringement by Dr. Luke Tolley, a food scientist who had previously contracted with Built. Tolley is depicted on the website of Blue Unicorn as the developer of its product formula.
In the lawsuit, Built said in November 2018 it entered into an asset purchase agreement and a product development agreement with The Other Nutrition Company, whose principals included Tolley and some of his family members. The asset agreement gave Built “all rights, title and interests in, to and under any and all ‘whipped whey protein-based products’ that were being produced by Built Brands LLC as well as any and all intellectual property rights,” the suit stated.
Under the product development agreement, effective Nov. 29, 2018, to Nov. 29, 2020, the participants expressed “an intent to develop an emulsified whey product with truffle texture and taste,” according to the suit. In turn, Built claimed that by the terms of the pact Tolley agreed that he “will not, during and after the term of this agreement, disclose confidential information to any third party or use the confidential information for any purpose other than for purposes of performing (his) obligations under this agreement.”
Built explained in the suit that, around July 2024, it learned that Blue Unicorn and Christensen began making protein bar products that would compete directly with Built’s protein bar products. In addition, Built alleged, Blue Unicorn was selling its rival protein bars at a farmer’s market in Springville, where representatives of Blue Unicorn represented to consumers that the formulation for their protein bars was “from Built.”
“Blue Unicorn’s representations that the recipe for Blue Unicorn’s competing protein bars comes ‘from Built’ is misleading in that it is likely to cause consumer confusion, to cause consumer mistake and to deceive consumers into falsely believing that there is some legitimate affiliation, connection or association between Built and Blue Unicorn or that Blue Unicorn’s protein bars originate from, are sponsored by or are otherwise approved of by Built, which is false,” Built claimed in the lawsuit. “Blue Unicorn has also been actively approaching Built’s wholesale customers and other influential individuals in Utah County for the purpose of promoting and/or selling its competing protein bars.”
Christensen described the allegations that Tolley siphoned Built’s trade secrets for Blue Unicorn as baseless and contended Tolley’s work for Blue Unicorn came after his contract with Built had lapsed.
“Dr. Tolley developed Blue Unicorn’s proprietary technology and recipes based on his ongoing research in plant-based proteins, work that he conducted several years after his contract with Built ended,” Christensen said. “Dr. Tolley was never employed or bound by any non-compete agreement with Built.”
In the suit, Built said it seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief.