What started as a dream of owning a cafe in Pakistan by a duo is now making global headlines for defeating a multinational coffeehouse chain, Starbucks, in court. It all started when Starbucks filed a complaint against the Pakistani cafe named Sattar Buksh, which also had its logo very similar to the logo of Starbucks. Starbucks, which hadn't established outlets in Pakistan then, took objection. It argued that Sattar Buksh's name and look could cause confusion and could also dilute its trademark.
The duo, named Rizwan Ahmad and Adnan Yousuf, started Sattar Buksh in Karachi back in 2013. When Starbucks started a legal dispute, the founders said that their cafe was built with satire in mind. They pointed out differences in logo elements (fonts, figures, colours).
They emphasised that the name "Sattar Buksh" has a long cultural legacy in Pakistan, with the help of the mention of the name in a 500-year-old Arabic book. The cafe also blended local food and a mixed aesthetic, and claims that it wasn't trying to be a mirror image. Over time, the branding was tweaked to reduce resemblance. Disclaimers were put to clarify that there was no affiliation with Starbucks.
Revamped Menu, Different Than Starbucks
Sattar Buksh also argued that their menu was different than of Starbucks and has a variety of options from burgers, pizza and even shisha. Viral videos on social media claimed that they serve dishes like bunless burger on top, which is named as 'Besharam Burger.' one of their pizza serving has both veg and non-veg servings in one dish and is called as 'LOC' referring to the India-Pakistan border.
Sattar Buksh's Logo
Sattar Buksh's logo looked like a cheeky twin of Starbucks; the only major difference was that instead of having a mermaid, it had a moustached man in the center. It also had wavy imagery, green hues and tea cups instead of coffee.
Recent social media claimes suggest that the Pakistani cafe has defeated the global brand, Starbucks in the court. It is being celebrated as the victory of local restaurants over global dominators.
