McCormick fights Maryland weed brand over Old Bay-inspired stickers

By Katie Shepherd
October 12, 2023 at 2:52 p.m. EDT



Crabcakes & Cannabis stopped selling a parody sticker that mimicked the branding of McCormick’s Old Bay spice after the spice aisle giant sent a cease-and-desist letter to the small company. (Crabcakes & Cannabis)

On the shelves of cannabis dispensaries across Maryland, shoppers can find Crabcakes & Cannabis knickknacks, apparel, stickers, games and wooden crab mallets inspired by weed, crabs and the Old Line State. One popular design turns the Crossland family crest on the state flag into two red-and-white marijuana leaves. Another shows company mascot Buddy C. Weed, a red crab, holding a smoking joint in a claw.

But one particular sticker — a riff on an Old Bay spice container — has landed the shop in hot water. ... The company’s parody of the spice blend uses the same yellow, blue and red design but replaces Old Bay’s overtures to flavor with a description of “Dank Herb” best used “for chilling, creating, munching, medicating.” ... The homage was meant as a lighthearted joke for Maryland lovers, Crabcakes & Cannabis founder Jennifer Culpepper told The Washington Post in an interview. “They’re a spice company, and we’re talking about a different kind of herb,” she said.

But spice aisle giant McCormick & Co. took issue with the tongue-in-cheek sticker. The corporation, which books more than $6 billion of annual sales, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Crabcakes & Cannabis, demanding that the small business discontinue sales of its “Bud Sticker.” ... “McCormick takes this matter very seriously as it is not in the business of sponsoring products relating to marijuana use, and wishes to protect its consumers from confusion,” a lawyer for the company wrote in a letter last month. The company further alleged that the parody sticker would damage McCormick’s reputation by creating a wrongful association between the company and cannabis.

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A screenshot from the cease-and-desist letter shows a side-by-side comparison of McCormick’s Old Bay brand and Crabcakes & Cannabis's “Bud Sticker.” (Crabcakes & Cannabis)

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By Katie Shepherd
Katie Shepherd covers politics, government and local news in Montgomery County, Md., for The Washington Post's Metro Desk. She previously worked as a National reporter and an overnight reporter for the Morning Mix team. Before joining The Post, she was a staff writer at Willamette Week in Portland, Ore. Twitter https://twitter.com/katemshepherd