Entrepreneurs Sue Supermarket Chain for Failing to Make Their Cereal Brand Available for Customers

Small business owners have long complained that competition from retail giants is detrimental to small businesses.  A small business owner might have a top-quality product, but no matter what they do, they cannot afford to sell it at prices as low as what customers find at the big box retail giants.  In recent years, major retailers have started to partner with independent distributors and promote their products.  If you have been making culinary miracles in your kitchen, and the only thing that stopped you from sharing them with more than a small following of local customers was your lack of business infrastructure, then signing a contract with a multi-state supermarket chain feels like getting your big break.  Imagine seeing your own creation on the shelves of Whole Foods or Albertsons.  Of course, everyone in Los Angeles has heard the horror stories of the Hollywood contract system.  In the days of the Hays Code, many promising film stars saw their careers languish when they signed a contract with one of the major film studios, but then failed to cast them in any films; because of the contract, the actors were not allowed to work with any other film production companies.  Imagine if a supermarket chain did that with your food product, and you have arrived at the matter under dispute in a currently pending lawsuit.  If you signed a deal with a big company to distribute your product, but the distribution company is treating your creation like a washed up starlet, contact a Los Angeles business litigation lawyer.

Retail Chain Allegedly Breached Contract by Keeping Cereal in the Stock Room but Not on the Shelves

Two entrepreneurs have filed a lawsuit against a nationwide supermarket chain.  The plaintiffs, two Black men who established careers in the entertainment industry before marketing food products, signed a contract with the retail chain to sell their cereal brand.  The contract stipulated that the plaintiffs must pay for any merchandise that the retailer cannot sell by the expiration date.

The trouble began when the plaintiffs realized that their cereal was not selling nearly as well with this large retailer as it had sold through other distribution channels.  Employees of the plaintiffs visited stores in 20 states where the contract had indicated that the cereal would be sold, and they found no trace of the plaintiffs’ cereal on store shelves.  Instead, it was all in unopened boxes in the stock room.

The plaintiffs are suing the supermarket chain, alleging breach of contract.  They have also named as a defendant the national company that manufactured the cereal on a large scale and distributed it to the retailer, although news sources did not indicate this company’s alleged role in the breach of contract.

Speak With a Los Angeles Business Dispute Lawyer

A Los Angeles business dispute lawyer can help you if the company that promised to promote your product breached the agreement.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

time.com/6692740/snoop-dogg-suing-walmart-cereal-lawsuit/