Rebel Creamery, a Utah-based keto ice cream brand sold at Walmart, Target, and Kroger, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 14, 2026, less than a month after a federal judge ordered it to pay $23.785 million to rival ice cream maker Van Leeuwen for copying its distinctive packaging design.
U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee ruled on July 16 that Rebel intentionally infringed Van Leeuwen’s trade dress—the overall appearance and design of its product packaging—and acted in bad faith. “The evidence at trial left no doubt that Rebel infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen’s trade dress and did so intentionally,” Komitee wrote in his order.
Van Leeuwen’s claimed trade dress consisted of monochromatic cardboard pints with matching lids, pastel colors, black script lettering with an exaggerated capital letter, and a minimalist layout. Rebel’s packaging featured nearly identical design elements, according to court documents. Komitee found that some consumers and industry professionals had actually been confused by the similarity.
The judge was particularly critical of Rebel’s defense. Rebel’s founders, Austin and Courtney Archibald, had claimed they never saw Van Leeuwen’s packaging when designing their own cartons. “To be blunt, their testimony concerning the development of Rebel’s packaging was clearly fabricated,” Komitee said. “The likelihood of all these design features converging at random is infinitesimal.”
Van Leeuwen, a Brooklyn-based artisanal ice cream maker founded in 2008, had redesigned its packaging in August 2016 after hiring the design firm Pentagram to prepare the brand for national wholesale distribution. The design was distinctive enough that Van Leeuwen’s annual growth rate more than doubled from 35.8 percent between 2014 and 2016 to 91.6 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to court filings.
Rebel Creamery was founded in September 2017, more than a year after Van Leeuwen’s redesign. Rebel’s packaging began appearing in grocery stores in August 2018 and was discovered by a Van Leeuwen employee in late 2018 or early 2019. Van Leeuwen filed suit in April 2021, initiating a five-year legal battle.
The Bankruptcy and Appeal
The Midway, Utah-based company listed $10 million to $50 million in both assets and liabilities in its bankruptcy filing. Rebel has appealed Komitee’s judgment; the company filed a notice of appeal on August 12, two days before filing for bankruptcy protection. All litigation against Rebel is subject to an automatic stay while the bankruptcy case proceeds.
Judge Komitee ordered Rebel not only to pay the $23.785 million in disgorged profits but also to redesign its ice cream packaging to avoid further infringement. The judgment highlighted how trade dress protection—which safeguards the overall visual appearance of a product’s packaging—can result in substantial damages even when individual design elements, such as pastel colors or script lettering, are not inherently unique.
The ruling carries implications for food and beverage companies, many of which compete on packaging design in an increasingly crowded marketplace. A similar pattern of large financial judgments affecting companies has emerged across industries, with settlements and judgments sometimes forcing restructuring.
Rebel Creamery sells low-carb, high-fat, no-sugar-added keto ice cream in 20 flavors. The company’s bankruptcy filing came at a time when the broader ice cream store industry has grown steadily; industry revenue rose 5.8 percent to $7.4 billion over the five years through 2025, according to IBISWorld data cited in court documents.
Sources
- Reuters — Van Leeuwen’s July 17 report of Judge Komitee’s ruling; the judge’s finding that Rebel acted in bad faith and the $23.8 million judgment
- TheStreet — Details of Rebel’s Chapter 11 filing on August 14; Komitee’s July 16 order; asset and liability figures; Van Leeuwen’s growth rates; Rebel’s founding and product details
- Inc. — Pentagram’s design process for Van Leeuwen; the four copied design features; Rebel’s founding date and Rebel’s package discovery timeline
- JDSupra — Confirmation of the $23.785 million judgment and trade dress infringement finding
- Fox Business — Rebel’s bankruptcy filing and the disputed claim under appeal
