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A battle is brewing in the regional coffee business as challenger .Mello Joy takes on heavyweight Community Coffee.
For years, Baton Rouge-based Community has dominated the market, but Mello Joy, a brand remembered by many in South Louisiana but out of circulation for more than two decades, is staging a comeback.
Mello Joy re-entered the regional coffee scene several years ago when Brian Begnaud, the grandson of, Louis R. Begnaud, who founded the company in 1936, picked up the dormant brand and began marketing it.
Community, which had purchased Mella Joy in 1975, filed suit in federal court to stop him. The "Mello Joy" name had not been used for many years, and Community had not renewed the registration.
Federal courts in Baton Rouge and Lafayette dismissed Community's suit. Then the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided the Mello Joy trademark belongs to Begnaud, paving the way for him to revive his family's lost tradition. Community refused comment on the legal matters.
While the brand has made its initial comeback mainly in the Lafayette area, Begnaud is now turning his attention to Community's home turf. After a month in the market, Mello Joy's yellow bag is on shelves at Albertsons on College Drive, and the coffee is being served at Boutin's on Bluebornnet. The Lucky Magnolia truck stop in Denham Springs is offering it, and Begnaud is finalizing a deal that would put Mello Joy in a chain of convenience stores.
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