Vapes carrying ‘Prime’ and ‘Pryme’ branding that imitate the Prime hydration drink are being marketed on social media and online vape retailer IndeJuice is taking legal action against them.
IndeJuice has owned the ‘Prime’ trademark in the electronic cigarette industry since 2018 as part of its IndeJuice Prime Certification - an authenticity guarantee that, the firm claims, helps buyers shop for vape products with confidence.
IndeJuice founder George Muharib said: “Identical vape flavour profiles to those contained in Prime drinks have been readily available in the vape market for over a decade and have been vital in helping users quit smoking.
“However, the recent influx of new market entrants seeking to connect those pre-existing flavour profiles with imitation Prime branding is a unique marketing phenomenon that is undesirable to all reputable retailers in the industry. As well as the unnecessary increased risk of marketing towards young non-smokers and non-vapers, such branding also infringes on IndeJuice’s established portfolio of Prime trademarks.”
Nishi Patel of Londis Bexley Park in Dartford, Kent, was approached to stock Prime-branded vapes last month. “I’ve been offered Prime-branded vapes,” he said. “I won’t touch them.
“It gives you a bad name - why risk having a good reputation diminished? If you’re already doing good sales you don’t need gimmick lines. Any reputable company won’t touch them.”
He claimed that the government needed to do more to stamp out illegal vapes. “The problem is the government isn’t doing much in terms of dealing with illicit vapes … If there’s no one stopping them doing it then they aren’t going to stop. There needs to be tougher, more stringent rules on it.”
Paul Lodge, marketing director at Rusdene Services, which operates Londis and Budgens stores housing vape shops, added: “We don’t touch anything that doesn’t come from a legitimate source.
“It harms the industry and it harms the brand. It’s an issue for them [Prime] to shut down. There’s always going to be unscrupulous retailers trying to sell the stuff … It’s the seedy underbelly of the world we live in.”
IndeJuice is currently collecting evidence as part of its legal proceedings. “From what we can tell so far, most of these products are made in China but are distributed from locations in Manchester and London,” said Muharib. It seems that these items are being distributed through local connections at convenience stores and local wholesalers to keep things offline where they are easily traceable.
“There have been 10 new trademark applications for the word ‘Prime’ or some variant in the vape industry in the last two months. Most of these applications were submitted close to Christmas, suggesting that more ‘Prime’ branded disposable vapes are on the way to our UK market as we speak.”
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