how did Massimo Zanetti Beverage acquire the rights to the Chuck full of nuts name for the lunch trade business
Massimo Zanetti Beverage appears to have gotten the Chock full o’Nuts rights through its 2005 purchase of several U.S. coffee brands from Sara Lee, which included Chock full o’Nuts, Hills Bros., MJB, and Chase & Sanborn, for about $82.5 million. A later source also describes the brand as having moved under Massimo Zanetti’s control via that Sara Lee transaction.
How it happened
- Sara Lee owned the brand before the sale.
- Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group bought the U.S. coffee-brand portfolio in 2005.
- Chock full o’Nuts was part of that portfolio, so the brand rights transferred as part of the broader acquisition.
One important nuance
The materials I found point to the brand rights changing hands through the acquisition, but they do not show a separate, standalone deal just for the name itself. Instead, the name seems to have come along with the larger coffee-business purchase from Sara Lee.
Context
Chock full o’Nuts has since been operated by Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, and later trademark records list that company as the owner of the mark.
In short, the rights were acquired as part of a package deal when Massimo Zanetti bought Sara Lee’s U.S. coffee brands in 2005.