Rebel Creamery files Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid Van Leeuwen trade-dress dispute

Rebel Creamery, whose products are sold in major grocery chains such as Walmart and Kroger, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah on Aug. 14. The filing lists Van Leeuwen as an unsecured creditor with a claim of nearly $24 million stemming from a trade-dress lawsuit, though Rebel has marked the claim as disputed and is appealing the judgment.

U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee previously ruled that Rebel had intentionally infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen's trade dress, ordering the company to cease selling ice cream in the contested packaging and to redesign it. The judge described Van Leeuwen’s packaging as “monochromatic, pastel cardboard packages with minimalist designs and black cursive script,” and said Rebel’s packaging used “a near-identical color scheme and script…with slight design differences to convey dietary information.”

Van Leeuwen had originally sought more than $36 million in damages; the court reduced the amount to just under $24 million. Rebel appealed the ruling on Aug. 12. Court records do not indicate that the lawsuit alone caused the bankruptcy filing.

Founded in September 2017 in Utah by Austin and Courtney Archibald, Rebel Creamery markets its ice cream as a keto-friendly product with a low glycemic index. The company raised $80,000 through a Kickstarter campaign in December 2017 and now distributes its ice cream nationwide while operating a chain of parlors in over a dozen states.