Mondelēz International is suing Joyride Sweets for allegedly copying the design of the candy giant’s Sour Patch Kids gummies for its “Sour Smacks” brand.
The Oreo and Ritz maker claims the candy brand “features nearly identical copies” of Sour Patch Kids’ kid-shaped mascot, as well as yellow and green packaging “intended to copy, and cause confusion.”
Joyride began selling sour gummy bears under the generic “sour fruit gummies” name in 2020, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division. In 2025, Joyride launched a redesigned version of the sour chewy candy product under the name “Sour Smacks” and featuring humanoid-shaped gummies.
“Joyride—true to its name—embarked on a brazen commercial strategy of ‘joyriding’ on the equity of America’s favorite sour chewy candy brand,” according to the lawsuit. “It stole SOUR PATCH KIDS’ popular look, and dared Mondelēz to do something about it. But these KIDS will not be pushed around.”
Mondelēz said Joyride and Sour Patch Kids are often sold at the same retailers and frequently appear side by side.
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Joyride, which includes YouTube content creator Ryan Trahan as a co-owner, leverages that proximity and resulting consumer confusion caused by the similarity of the packaging to “trick” shoppers into buying Joyride instead of Sour Patch Kids, Mondelez claims.
The Sour Patch Kids owner said it repeatedly notified private-equity-backed Joyride that it was violating the company’s intellectual property rights, but Joyride refused to act.
“Mondelēz is not in the business of suing … But when, in an attempt to resolve this dispute, Mondelēz repeatedly asked Joyride to cease this infringement, Joyride refused to stop. Mondelēz thus was left with no choice but to protect its SOUR PATCH KIDS brand through litigation.”
A spokesperson for Joyride did not respond to a request for comment. Mondelēz has not heard from Joyride since filing the lawsuit.
Packaging can be a big deciding factor for shoppers perusing a specific product or category. A study by Shorr Packaging in 2020 found that packaging was important for seven out of 10 individuals. And a 2018 Ipsos study revealed 72% of consumers said packaging design often influenced their purchase decisions.
Food companies have sued competitors more frequently in recent years as they aim to protect their valuable brand equity.
J.M. Smucker sued Trader Joe’s in 2025, alleging the grocery chain’s version of crustless PB&J sandwiches are an “obvious copycat” of its Uncrustables frozen sandwiches.
And earlier that year, Mondelēz demanded that Aldi change the packaging for several of its private label snacks, noting similarities between the retailer’s products and the packaging of Oreos, Chips Ahoy! and five other of the snack giant’s brands.
In the lawsuit against Joyride, Mondelēz is asking the court to stop trademark infringement and provide monetary compensation “for the injuries it has suffered from Joyride’s rampant misconduct,” among other damages.
“Joyride is welcome on the playground — there’s plenty of room for anyone who wants to play fairly. But fair play means following the well-established rules, and Joyride has shown no interest in playing fair,” the lawsuit claimed.
“Instead, it built its business around looking as much like others as possible and trying to trick consumers into thinking they’re someone else — like SOUR PATCH KIDS. What Joyride is doing is theft. It is intentional and deliberate. And it is unlawful.”
