Entrepreneurship is often the lifeblood of us Scots. We have a rich history of innovation and success, taking the green shoots of an idea and building it into a fully-fledged, profitable product or service.
We are resilient and determined, so in the challenging and uncertain world of entrepreneurship, persistence and the ability to overcome any obstacles are crucial if we are to succeed.
Take it from someone who has been there. You can be sailing along nicely with a brilliant plan, only to find yourself in a storm where you begin to question yourself on whether it’s worth it at all.
I was reminded of this due to a story that appeared last week regarding a small independent brewery, Jump Ship Brewing, who have launched a legal challenge against industry behemoth BrewDog over a product name dispute.
The small craft brewery is Scotland’s only woman-owned, non-alcoholic brewing company, run by Sonja Mitchell, and boasting a core range of four beers, from lager to IPA.
I love a brand with a great story behind it, and the brewing company is no different, with Sonja being a keen sailor, beer-lover and mother of three deciding to ‘jump ship’ from her marketing job to launch the brewery in 2019, due to enjoying a beer, but not the associated hangover.
As I’ve often touched on within my column, the importance of a brand name is crucial, serving various functions within the business world. It’s shorthand for the value, quality, and reputation associated with the brand – so protecting that brand is essential if you are to be successful.
In a crowded market, especially such as alcohol, which is flooded with product from major breweries to small backroom operations creating small batches of booze, a unique and well-crafted brand name helps distinguish yourself your competitors and sets the brand apart, avoiding confusion from consumers.
The Scottish non-alcoholic brewery launched its first edition of its Shore Leave beer in mid-2022, with a second version in the Shore Leave series, a berry-fermented sour beer, released earlier this year.
However, the Jump Ship Brewing owner claims that she came across BrewDog’s intention to introduce a beer named Shore Leave with the tagline ‘It’s time to jump ship’ in July 2023.
Mitchell asserted that BrewDog’s choice of the name Shore Leave for its new ale posed a potential risk of confusion among distributors and consumers. This confusion, she argued, could lead to financial harm to the Jump Ship brand.
Following Mitchell’s request, BrewDog abandoned the ‘jump ship’ tagline but was unwilling to alter the beer’s name.
Despite her direct communication with BrewDog, Mitchell found it necessary to pursue legal action to protect the substantial investments made by her and her team in the development, branding, packaging, and distribution of the Shore Leave series of beers.
Mitchell emphasised the importance of safeguarding these investments, stating, “We cannot afford to lose that.”
Protecting your brand name in a competitive business landscape is essential for small businesses to differentiate themselves, attract customers, and achieve sustainable growth. By safeguarding your brand, small businesses can ensure legal protection, foster consumer trust, and help the long-term success of their brand in the marketplace.
Unfortunately, it appears that Jump Ship Brewing did not challenge the trademark when BrewDog applied for the Shore Leave name in March 2023, after the first Jump Ship Shore Leave beer was released, but before its second release in May 2023.
With no opposition to the trademarking raised at the time, which is standard practice in the business world, the mark was registered in June 2023 to BrewDog – a fact they were quick out the traps to point out when questioned on the legal action.
BrewDog stated they were ‘surprised’ with the legal action, pointing to their ownership of the Shore Leave trademark in relation to beer in the UK.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the coming months and whether Sonja Mitchell remains the course, however for any entrepreneurs out there, it serves as a timely reminder that trademarking intellectual property is an essential, proactive and strategic step to secure your business identity, reputation, and investment.
Cyber defence must become top priority
As a business owner, I know I’m not alone in tightening my online security.
It’s imperative that organisations step up their efforts in order to protect themselves from digital gangs, especially after a number of high-profile hacking cases and data breaches in recent years.
The number of reported incidents of cyber crime in Scotland alone has doubled since 2019, with investment fraud, impersonation and business email compromise making up the bulk of the offences.
Therefore, there really is no better time for the Scottish Government to up its support to ensure businesses are properly protected from this rising threat.
I was pleased to hear calls from the Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland for additional funding to help fight organised crime through a new collaborative multi-agency model.
The initiative managed to uncover £3m of defrauded money during a six-month trial of the organisation’s new triage hub, and now it’s hoped funding will be allocated to expand it into a fully sustainable charitable organisation.
As the centre’s chief executive Jude McCorry put it, cyber criminals are becoming “increasingly sophisticated” and as a business community “we really can’t afford to underestimate the impact” it can have.
The detrimental effect of cyber crime can be hugely damaging to an organization. It’s a serious matter that should be treated as such, so I applaud Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland for their continuous efforts to bring this to the top of the Scottish Government’s agenda.
It Made Me Laugh
How do you fancy getting your hands on an unlimited supply of burgers and wine for the next year?
Well now is your chance, as Glasgow burger joint El Perro Negro has joined forces with wine company Greasy Fingers to find to the UK’s first ever ‘burger sommelier’.
No previous professional training is necessary, of course – applicants just need to possess an unwavering love of delicious food and the ability to impress an esteemed panel of judges with their take on what the perfect burger is.
And what’s more, the lucky winner will have the chance to create two signature recipes which will feature on menus up and down the country, including through Uber Eats.
This is a delicious take on clever marketing – eateries across Scotland, take note!
It Made Me Weep
There’s bad news for people looking to escape the mainland to start a new life, after a report by jobs site Adzuna revealed our islands are home to the lowest paid postcode areas in the UK.
Average advertised wages in the Outer Hebrides are £17,428 – more than £20K lower than the typical London salary – while wage offers in Lerwick in Shetland are the third lowest at just £26,624.
In fact, the survey found the best-paying areas were all south of the border, with Leeds, Cambridge and Manchester all named as the highest earning cities outside the UK capital.
So much for living the rural life – I think I’ll stick to the city for the time being.
