Imagine getting crushed by a giant Clif bar -- now you've got an idea how a small, Tempe fitness firm must feel.
Luna Fitness, on the corner of Elliot and Rural roads, has been sued in federal court by the national energy-bar powerhouse over alleged trademark infringement. The Tempe company's name, crescent-moon design in its logo, and women-oriented mission is way too reminiscent of Clif's Luna Bar line of female-oriented snacks and fitness products, the lawsuit says.
Ken and Barbara Skye Roberts, owners of Luna Fitness, did not return calls seeking comment.
The California owners of Clif Bar, who claimed in a business article last year that the company posted a yearly revenue of $235 million, wants Luna Fitness to change its name and "luna"-flavored advertising.
Luna, some of you scholars out there already know, simply is Latin for moon. And that's certainly a fitting name for the fitness center, given its focus on women's monthly visits from Aunt Flo:
The Luna Fitness Charts will also benefit women by helping them identify with the effects the moon's cycle has on her menstrual cycle. In a perfect world, all women would cycle together, ovulating during the full moon and menstruating during the new moon. But due to electricity, birth control and other synthetic man made creations, this is no longer possible... Empowering women by helping them understand and appreciate the importance of their menstrual cycles, the program is designed to reduce and/or eliminate the emotional and physical symptoms that they have.
Luna bars first went into production in 1999, while Luna Fitness registered its name in Arizona in 2007. The small fitness center may well have to change its name to something else -- and this is as good a place for ideas as any. We thought of a few:
Red's Gym
Bloody Good Workout
Period Power
Moon Mission
Go With the Flow
Rags to Riches
iPad's already taken, of course.
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UPDATE March 2012: Clif Bar settles with Luna Fitness.
