One of the brothers behind SpudBros has disputed claims they are “trying to ruin someone’s livelihood” after being accused of issuing legal threats against another small business.
The Preston-based food stall faced the claim from Portsmouth-based vendor ‘The Spud Father’, which describes itself as selling ‘classic and gourmet jacket potatoes’. The business started operating in September with a logo styled on that of the 1972 film The Godfather.
Writing on Facebook, owner Rumen Islam says that he has been “threatened with legal action from Spudbros” over the use of the name and suggested that copyrights were registered in direct response to his operations.
However, filings with the Intellectual Property Office (ICO) undermine this timeline, showing that a trademark for the Spudfather was actually registered in June. Meanwhile, SpudBros deny issuing any legal threat and instead say they have only responded to a copyright attempt from the South West stallholder.
According to Jacob Harley, one of the eponymous brothers running the company, the situation has escalated to his three-year-old daughter receiving threats and he shared his own lengthy post to push back against the claims.
He wrote: “There are rumours flying around that we’ve sued a small business called The Spudfather, or that we’re trying to ruin someone’s livelihood. We are not suing anyone. Not now. Not ever.
“When we opened SpudBros Express last year, we launched a dish called The Spudfather named after our dad. He’s been peeling potatoes, running the tram, and supporting us since day one. He’s the reason we’re on this incredible journey.
“That name means a lot to our family. It became our number one seller. It became part of who we are. As we grew, we developed merch, franchises expanded and had discussions with major retailers. We therefore trademarked The Spudfather to protect it. In June, we paid for it, filed it, and it was approved and registered in September before any other business applied for the same name.”
In the original post, The Spud Father has described the issue as “gutting”. He said: “We’ve poured our heart and soul into this — from the name, to the menu, to every bit of branding and hard work behind the scenes. This isn’t just a business to us — it’s something we’ve built with pride, passion, and community spirit.
“To suddenly face the threat of losing it because a bigger company wants to throw their weight around… it’s hard to put into words how disheartening that feels. The stress and worry have taken a real toll — mentally and emotionally.”
In response, Jacob suggested there would have been no issue if the trademark had been checked before the business was launched and said lawyers only became involved when the IPO notified them of a new attempt to file a trademark under the same name.
The company has grown from its Flag Market origins to collaborate with the likes of KFC and Mr Beast and to open stores in London and Liverpool with ambitions to go further. It has also reached sufficient size to become shirt sponsor for Preston North End this season and says this growth comes with a need to protect itself. Filings for the trademarks, seen by Blog Preston, include a wide range of uses including clothing, toys and video games in addition.
He continued: “To be absolutely clear, there is no lawsuit, no court case, just a standard legal reply to protect something that belongs to our business and our dad’s legacy. We haven’t tried to shut anyone down. We love seeing small food businesses thrive, we were one, and in many ways we still are.
“We wish this hadn’t gone online before we’d even had a chance to speak to one another, resolve this or get a response from the IPO. There’s been huge misunderstanding and suddenly we were dealing with threats towards my three-year-old daughter and people saying they would vandalise the tram.
“That’s why we’re addressing this properly. We’re building something bigger now with partners who rely on us to protect the SpudBros identity. We’ve trademarked other things like Tram Sauce, because we want to take this dream further into supermarkets and beyond (not how we planned to announce that). Other trademarks can be found online.
“We are still the same family business, just with bigger ambition building a global brand and these are the things that need to happen. And look, if you run a business, please always check trademarks first. It protects you too.”
Jacob added that he has now “reached out privately” to the other business owner and regrets not doing so earlier.
While the family have received large support in comments responding to Jacob’s post, one note of caution did come from All Hopes No Promises owner Michael Jerome. He received repeated legal threats from an American chain after opening in Preston under the name Smashed and appeared to suggest the family were losing touch with their origins.
He said: “Our businesses had completely different colours, menus, and branding – and yet, they
came after us. The support we got from our customers and followers was incredible, with
so many saying, ‘What on earth are SmashUK playing at?’
“That whole experience nearly broke us. It caused stress, depression, and strain on our
family – but we didn’t give up. We stood our ground, fought it legally, and they eventually
backed down with a formal agreement.
“That’s why this situation hits home. This doesn’t feel like you guys speaking – it feels like a legal or marketing team making these moves.”
