An Idaho billionaire being sued by the owner of a Haleiwa sandwich company is offering to change the legally contested name of his retail beef company by holding a community contest.
Frank VanderSloot, owner of Honolulu Meat Co. LLC, told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser that he’s “never seen a billion dollars in his life” but is thankful for the good fortune and folks that helped him build a successful international health products manufacturer, Melaleuca, that is responsible for most of his wealth.
VanderSloot said the lawsuit alleging federal trademark infringement and unfair competition filed by Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop caught him off guard, but he “doesn’t want to cause anyone any trouble.”
He said he would rather make friends and do the right thing.
VanderSloot sent a letter Monday to Terry Thompson, who founded Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop in 1975 and registered its trademark in 1992.
The billionaire, whose humble beginnings in northern Idaho include milking cows and sleeping in an attic, offered to change the name printed on his retail beef business from Kua ‘Aina and Kua ‘Aina Ranches. He’s holding a community contest to rename the firm.
VanderSloot, who is also CEO of Hawaii Sustainable Beef, a company that represents 144 Hawaii ranchers and currently sells meat under the Kua ‘Aina label, said he will pay $10,000 to the winner of the contest and buy the top 100 contestants a sandwich from Thompson’s Haleiwa flagship restaurant.
“We should have fun with it, we should make friends with it and we should try and do the right thing,” said VanderSloot, who is spending Christmas with his family at his home on Kauai. “Hopefully, they will accept it as an honorable approach with good intentions, and I assure you that it is.”
In the letter that was to be delivered to Thompson in Haleiwa on Monday, VanderSloot wrote, “Some of the 144 small local ranchers whose meat we sell under the ‘Kua ‘Aina Ranches’ brand came up with that brand name. They felt that ‘Kua ‘Aina Ranches’ appropriately described their product as meat coming from small local ranches.”
There are more than a dozen companies that use “Kua ‘Aina” as a company name or a brand name, VanderSloot wrote, “However, I believe that you are the only restaurant that uses that brand, and we are the only meat company that uses that brand.”
VanderSloot told Thompson in the letter that his company plans to run a contest to ask the public to help come up with an alternative brand that would “represent local ranchers’ beef.”
“The grand prize will be $10,000 to whoever comes up with the winning name, and we would like to also award each of the next 100 contestants a Kua ‘Aina sandwich at your Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop, paid for by us,” wrote VanderSloot.
“Once the contest winners are decided, and the 100 sandwiches awarded, I would love to visit your sandwich shop and get a picture of you and me shaking hands and sharing a sandwich outside your shop in Haleiwa. It would be great if you and I could set a powerful example for the public and especially for the youth in Hawaii on how to settle disputes without being adversarial.”
The federal lawsuit was filed Dec. 14 by Thompson’s attorney, Jim Bickerton.
Thompson was unavailable for an interview Monday but told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a written statement that he is “very encouraged by and appreciative of Mr. VanderSloot’s letter, and I look forward to sharing that sandwich.”
“All I’ve wanted out of this is for them to stop using the Kua ‘Aina name, and that is something that needs to happen immediately,” said Thompson.
Letter to Terry Thompson by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
