One against one - David against Goliath at the beer market

You have to give Oliver Stöcker and Sylvana Westphal, the founders of the small Fleuther brewery in Geldern on the Lower Rhine, one thing: They had a good entrepreneurial instinct when they launched their first beer on the market in 2016, a classic Pilsner. They called it "One," and lo and behold, it's selling very well, according to the company.

Perhaps also because the name is so wonderful to play with: one thing is still possible – a sentence that is said every day in every pub in this country. Or: Do you want another one? The slogan with which Fleuther advertises the product isn't bad either: "One for you - one for me!"

The name also convinces the Krombacher brewery from Siegerland. She wants to bring out a beer on March 20th, which is also called "Eins". "One bright" to be exact. Fleuther produces 350 hectoliters per year, Krombacher 7.6 million. That is almost 22,000 times more. Krombacher makes what is called TV beer in the industry. So a beer that is extensively advertised on TV.

Fleuther is something like the opposite of Krombacher - and has now handed the matter over to a lawyer in order to prevent one thing: having to share the promotional name with an industry giant in the future. A classic case of David versus Goliath. Krombacher apparently even wants to use the slogan "One for you - one for me".

In 2019, Krombacher was already involved in a legal dispute over a name registration. At that time, a hobby brewer from Neuss used the term rock spring water for his beer. Krombacher forbade him to do this. The brewer then applied to have the term removed from the German trademark register. His argument: Krombacher does not use the word Felsquellwasser as a name for a beer brand, but only as a description of an ingredient. However, the court dismissed the man's request. He was no longer allowed to call his beer, which he only produced in quantities of a few litres, rock spring water.

In the current case, Krombacher argues that the rights to the name "Eins" were secured in 2022. And that's exactly what Fleuther forgot, a registration of the naming rights. "Obviously one is a good idea, but twice independently thought up," says the industry giant from Siegerland without mercy. How does the dispute end? Wait. In any case, the highly competitive beer market, which has grown again in 2022, has a real football moment: a one-on-one situation.