Standing out in a crowded marketplace
How a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney helped realise the value of Boost Drinks’ brand.
With annual turnover of around £35m, and exports to over eight countries, Boost Drinks knows success. But in a crowded marketplace, where the value of a business can be completely tied up with the brand, working with a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney can make all the difference.
‘I was in contact with a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney right from the outset,’ says Founder and Managing Director of Boost Drinks, Simon Gray. ‘First I wondered if the Boost brand existed. Then was it able to be trade marked?’
With the strategic insight of Alan Fiddles, Managing Partner at UDL Intellectual Property, Simon has built the Boost brand from the ground up. Today, Boost Drinks enjoys full UK distribution.
‘We protect companies’ most important assets: their brands,’ says Alan. ‘The trade mark “Boost” is the thing that distinguishes it from its competitors in what is quite a crowded market. The brand is absolutely central to the success of the business.’
Working with Boost Drinks from day one, Alan has helped his client develop a brand strategy that meets their needs, as the business grows and changes.
‘For us, protecting the Boost brand is everything,’ says Simon. ‘We’re not a manufacturer. We are a brand. So for us the equity that holds in terms of the product on shelf and its names and look in front of a shopper is key.’
The Boost brand also influences the culture of the business, and how it operates, internally with its people and externally with partners. ‘There’s nothing more important than protecting the brand—and the value it holds,’ adds Simon.
In such a competitive area of the food and drink sector, working closely with a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney has also helped Boost Drinks to defend itself.
‘We’ve helped defend the brand against those who have either innocently tried to get too close to the brand and what it stands for, or those who have quite clearly deliberately done it,’ says Alan. ‘It’s been a fascinating journey seeing the brand grow and develop, and be part of that.’
On top of watching for other brands infringing on Boost Drinks’ IP, Alan has also advised his client on their own branding activity.
‘We approached Alan because there was a view we were infringing another brand’s colourway,’ says Simon, ‘which from our perspective was a learning curve.
‘Alan was very much on the front foot, educating us with his view of how these things play out. He also helped us to understand the costs and process we’d probably have to go through. We took his guidance right from the outset, understanding the fact that our brand is everything.’
Alan is a strong supporter of CITMA, and the work we do to promote our members.
‘CITMA is the professional body for people involved in the protection of brands in the UK,’ he says. ‘We are the professionals who are qualified to give advice in these areas. We should be what people look for if they need advice. We are the specialists.’
And for Simon—what has working with a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney from the beginning helped his business to achieve?
‘Plan and invest into the brand for the long-term. Work with a partner who can guide us and bring their experience. And have real professional support—someone who understands how you’re wanting to approach situations, rather than just the endplay you’re ultimately looking for in a particular situation.’