Hands Off The Duffin

Starbucks rolled out the pastry marriage of a donut and muffin in the United Kingdom—and right into a public relations nightmare.

October 11, 2013

LONDON – Whose duffin is it? Starbucks, as part of its pledge to plump up its in-store pastries line, debuted a cross between a doughnut and a muffin in the United Kingdom last week. Then it all fell apart when a London baker claimed the duffin was her idea, USA Today reports.

The Duffin has the appearance of a muffin but the taste of a raspberry-filled donut. Starbucks added the pastry to 730 stores in the United Kingdom. Not so fast, said Bea’s of Bloomsbury, a small bakery which has offered duffins for two years.

“I find the similarities between our two duffins to be too much of a coincidence to ignore,” said Bea Vo, who owns the bakery. “I'm just more worried that by trademarking a name for something we have been selling for years, they have the legal right to prevent us from doing so, and that's really scary for a small business — to take on a legal fight that we really can't afford.”

Starbucks said it didn’t know about her duffins—and that it won’t stop her from selling the pastries in her shop. “Since launching the Starbucks Duffin, we have discovered there are other Duffins being created and enjoyed in the U.K.,” said Ian Cranna, vice president of marketing & category for Starbucks U.K. “Neither Starbucks nor Rich Products [the company that makes the duffin for the coffeehouse chain] has at any time suggested that we will attempt to stop Bea's of Bloomsbury selling their own Duffins.”

Despite the hoopla, the Duffin is “selling well” in the United Kingdom, but no word on whether it will cross the Atlantic to our shores anytime soon.

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