Dr. Oz and a lip balm maker walk into a Starbucks. The punchline: A complaint is filed.
The coffee-flavored lip balm is at the center of a legal dispute between Starbucks and a relative of Mehmet Oz, known as Dr. Oz and currently a candidate for the Pennsylvania Senate.
Nearly five years ago, Oz helped his sister-in-law and actress Samantha Lemole hook up with Starbucks for an introductory meeting in New York. Now, Lemole’s company alleges the Seattle-based coffee giant broke its word and stole, manufactured and sold its product concept.
Representatives for Oz did not respond to inquiries.
A Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement that the allegations were without merit.
“We look forward to presenting our case in court,” the spokesperson said.
According to a federal lawsuit filed last week, Lemole was a member of the management of Balmuccino, a coffee-flavored lip balm company based in Los Angeles. The company was looking for a partner who could help it manufacture and sell its products. Oz put her in touch with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who reportedly directed her to then-director of product development and senior vice president Mesh Gelman.
Lemole brought a pitch deck and prototypes to a meeting with Starbucks executives and asked them to sign a nondisclosure agreement, according to the lawsuit filed in Western Washington District Court.
The executives reportedly “diverted”, claiming that Schultz and Oz’s relationship was enough protection.
The lawsuit alleges that Gelman questioned Balmuccino’s representatives about their concepts and products, the creation process, and the different flavor possibilities during the pitch meeting.
Balmuccino also shared the names of its material suppliers and manufacturers.
At the end of the meeting, Gelman “asked if he could hang on to the pitch deck so he could pitch the idea ‘all the way to the mast’ and explore the possibility of a partnership moving forward”, indicates the complaint.
Gelman did not respond to inquiries.
Two weeks later, Gelman left Starbucks without telling Balmuccino representatives about the status of the product launch, according to the suit.
In 2018, suppliers told Balmuccino that Starbucks had contacted them to inquire about coffee-flavored lip balms, and the specs a potential manufacturer received for those prototypes were identical to those given by Balmuccino to Gelman during the meeting. of 2017, depending on the costume.
Starbucks reportedly used the Balmuccino concept and launched a limited-edition kit of four lip glosses in 2019 that smelled and tasted like S’mores Frappuccinos: Chocolicious Bliss, Marshmallow Glow, Campfire Spark, and Graham Glam.
The Frappuccino flavor was discontinued in 2021.
Balmuccino is suing Starbucks for damages for theft, manufacture and sale of its products.
She claims to have suffered at least $75,000 in damages.
Balmuccino originally filed a lawsuit against Starbucks in California state court in 2019, but it was dismissed the following year because the court ruled it was not within Starbucks’ jurisdiction, the report said. Balmuccino’s attorney, Eduardo Matorell, in an email. Matorell added that the case will now proceed on the merits since it was filed in Washington.
