Starbucks Is Being Sued Over the Unicorn Drink

Before there was the shockingly sweet, super colorful, social media–friendly Starbucks' limited-edition Unicorn Frappuccino, there was the healthy version, known as the Unicorn Latte, and the creators aren't so keen on the copy.

Served up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn by The End cafe, the drink doesn't contain coffee or artificial colors, but it does contain “cold-pressed ginger, lemon juice, dates, cashews, blended with additional healthy, dried ingredients such as maca root, blue-green algae, and vanilla bean,” according to the $10 million trademark infringement lawsuit the cafe has since filed against Starbucks. 

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As reported on by the NY Post, The End began selling the Unicorn Latte in December, filing an application to trademark the name in January; Starbucks started selling its version on April 17.

“The size of and scope of Starbucks’ product launch was designed so that the Unicorn Frappuccino would eclipse the Unicorn Latte in the market, thereby harming [The End] and confusing their customers,” the suit says. “Starbucks’ products began appearing on social media labeled with the hashtag #unicornlatte, online publications began referring to Starbucks’ products as Unicorn Lattes, and [The End’s] Unicorn Latte—while still occasionally mentioned—was reduced to an ‘also ran’ anecdote to Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino."

In addition to the monetary sum associated with the suit, The End wants a public apology from Starbucks.