St. Louis chocolatier sues rival

ST. LOUIS -- Proof that competition in candy circles can be anything but sweet, one St. Louis chocolatier has accused its former owner of launching a rival company, then stealing trade secrets to peddle "impostor chocolate."

Karl Bissinger Inc. -- doing business as Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier -- and president Kenneth Kellerhals II filed the seven-count lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court against Lake Forest Confections, owner Maynard "Bud" Kolbrener II and three former Bissinger's workers now with Lake Forest.

"Lake Forest may feel it is OK to copy products, but we believe consumers should not be deceived into supporting a company that is trying to undermine a great St. Louis brand," Kellerhals said.

"No one wants to receive or knowingly give a box of impostor chocolate; it cheapens the sentiment."

Kolbrener deferred comment on the lawsuit until he had an opportunity to confer Wednesday with his attorneys. He called the lawsuit's claims "all unfounded."

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including lost profits, and a court order that would halt Lake Forest's questioned practices.

Kolbrener and the three former Bissinger's workers allegedly tried to profit from their intimate knowledge of Bissinger's practices and recipes through "a calculated scheme of false representation, misappropriation of trade secrets and copying of trademarks, products, graphic fonts, recipes, processes and store appearance."

Among other things, the lawsuit claims the defendants used Bissinger's Old World European motif and nearly identical chandeliers, flooring and wallpaper. And "virtually every single piece of candy manufactured and sold by the defendants is a copy of Bissinger's corresponding candy," Bissinger's claims.

Kellerhals said he and other investors bought from Kolbrener in the mid-1990s everything involving Bissinger's, including the trademarks, recipes and product names with Kolbrener's assurance that he'd keep the recipes and processes secret.

Kolbrener and LF Choc LLC opened Lake Forest Confections last September, eventually hiring six former Bissinger's workers, the lawsuit alleges. Several of the employees had signed confidentiality agreements with Bissinger's when they left, agreeing not to divulge its trade secrets.

"Now they are trying to copy our products and sell them in a store, which looks like our Bissinger's stores," Kellerhals said. "Lake Forest's imitation of Bissinger's is unconscionable."

According to the lawsuit, Bissinger's history in candy-making dates more than four centuries to 17th-century Paris, once even used as a gift by Napoleon Bonaparte to his beloved Josephine after his return from battle. The company has been in St. Louis since 1927.

Bissinger's, which has about 100 full and part-time employees, sells chocolates through its catalog, Web site and stores, four in the St. Louis region and one in Edina, Minn.

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On the Net:

Bissinger's, http://www.bissingers.com

Lake Forest Confections, http://www.lakeforestconfections.com