Rebel Creamery files for bankruptcy days after $23.8 million court judgment

Utah-based keto-friendly ice cream company Rebel Creamery has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following a costly legal battle over its product packaging with rival Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. The bankruptcy filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah just weeks after Rebel was ordered to pay $23.8 million in connection with the trademark dispute. According to court documents, Rebel reported approximately $13.78 million in assets compared with $23.85 million in liabilities. Its assets included about $5.22 million in cash, $2.59 million in accounts receivable and roughly $5.65 million in inventory.

The legal dispute began after a Van Leeuwen employee noticed Rebel Creamery’s products in late 2018 and raised concerns about similarities between the two brands. Van Leeuwen filed a lawsuit against Rebel in 2021, accusing the company of copying its trade dress, which covers the overall visual appearance and design of a product. The lawsuit focused on similarities including monochromatic ice cream containers, matching lids, pastel colors, black script lettering and minimalist packaging.

Van Leeuwen initially sought approximately $36.4 million in damages from Rebel. In July, U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee ruled that Rebel had intentionally infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen’s trade dress. The court found that the similarities between the products went beyond coincidence and that consumers had actually experienced confusion between the two brands. The ruling also required Rebel to redesign its packaging and prevented the company from continuing to sell products using the infringing designs. The court further ordered Rebel to surrender profits connected to the disputed products.

Evidence presented during the case included a customer account describing how the similar packaging caused confusion while shopping for ice cream. The customer said her husband mistakenly purchased Rebel instead of Van Leeuwen after seeing the products placed next to each other in a store. Rebel denied intentionally copying Van Leeuwen and maintained that its founders and designers, Austin and Courtney Archibald, had not seen Van Leeuwen’s products when developing the packaging.

Austin Archibald said he first encountered Van Leeuwen’s ice cream in July 2018 during a meeting with a Wegmans buyer. Rebel argued that its packaging had already been designed using Adobe Illustrator between December 2017 and early 2018. The company also said that only the final design files had been preserved. Van Leeuwen designer Pentagram, however, testified that the company had extensive documentation supporting its own design process, including briefs, presentations, concepts and design files.

Rebel Creamery was founded in 2017 after Austin Archibald identified growing demand for keto-friendly products among consumers who still wanted to enjoy traditional treats such as ice cream. The company expanded its distribution and products became available at retailers including Publix, Kroger, Walmart, H-E-B, Fred Meyer, Safeway and 7-Eleven. The Chapter 11 filing allows Rebel to seek protection while restructuring its finances and negotiating with creditors. Bankruptcy protection also generally places an automatic stay on most litigation against the company while the case moves forward.

The filing marks a significant setback for the ice cream maker as it attempts to manage heavy liabilities following the lengthy packaging dispute. The case could ultimately determine whether Rebel can restructure its finances and continue operating or faces a deeper financial crisis.