Mustard Company Sues Co-Packer in State Court for Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

On February 25, 2020, Mustard Girl LLC (Mustard Girl) sued Olds Products Co. of Illinois, LLC (Olds) in the Circuit Court of Cook County for misappropriation of trade secrets. According to the Complaint, Mustard Girl and Olds were co-packer partners from 2006 to 2018. During that time, Mustard Girl shared its secret Dijon mustard formula with Olds.  Under a contract between the parties, Olds manufactured and packaged both companies’ mustard products under separate labels. 

According to Mustard Girl, a sympathetic Olds employee confided in the founder of Mustard Girl that Olds had stolen the valuable recipe and was re-branding it as its own.  Based in part on the informant’s claims, Mustard Girl alleges that Olds “embarked on a secret plan to package the Mustard Girl 105 formula (‘Stoneground Deli’) as ‘Koop’s Honey Dijon’” and sell it at a lower price to competitors. In early 2018 the two companies split, which was “devastating” to Mustard Girl. By this time, Olds was already allegedly selling Mustard Girl’s formula under Olds’ own label. 

Mustard Girl seeks monetary damages for trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract. Mustard Girl is not asking the court for injunctive relief or other equitable relief such as the return of the proprietary recipe. 

TIP: This case demonstrates that: (1) any kind of information can be a trade secret; and (2) that value chain partnerships are a growing area of concern for trade secret protection.