Defeat for hemp start-up: The Stuttgart-based company The Hempany is not allowed to call its plant-based milk substitute products "Milck".

This was decided by the district court of Stuttgart on Thursday and thus upheld a lawsuit by the central competition office.

Gustave parts

Business correspondent in Stuttgart.

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The Hempany manufactures the milk substitute from hemp seeds, according to its own statements as the first company in Germany.

"We want to show what hemp can do and how awesome this superfood is," says the company's website.

The hemp plant convinces with nutritional values, taste and its contribution to climate protection.

Co-founder Laura Rothgang was disappointed with the verdict on the phone.

"We're in shock," she said.

The company must now bear the legal costs.

Possible follow-up costs, for example to change the marketing materials, are much higher.

According to Rothgang, if the company continued to use the name, up to 250,000 euros could be due.

The founder left open whether The Hempany wanted to appeal.

"We will consult with our lawyer." In the run-up, the founders had drummed against the central competition office: "We are fighting back against the dairy industry," says the website.

They are "afraid of progress: while milk sales are falling, the consumption of milk alternatives is increasing every day".

Violation of EU rules

The central competition office, or the center for combating unfair competition, is a self-regulatory body of the German economy that takes action against unfair competition.

Dairy farming associations also belong to the head office.

The organization had sent the start-up an injunction against which The Hempany had defended itself.

According to the district court, the central competition agency argued that the made-up word "Milck" was made up of the German word "Milch" and the English word "Milk" and therefore violated EU labeling protection for dairy products.

In addition, the advertising is misleading.

The district court followed this reasoning.

In the EU, only products of animal origin may be labeled as "milk" or "dairy product".

You shouldn't give the impression that it's an animal product.

But that's exactly what The Hempany did.

Otherwise, the goals of the EU regulation could be circumvented "through minimal deviations".

Compositions such as “milk products” or “plant milk” are also not permitted under EU rules.

The verdict is not yet legally binding.