Botanists know the tree as Myrica rubra. The English name is red bayberry or Chinese bayberry. And in China, where it's been cultivated for 2,000 years, it's called yang-mei--which inspired Charles Stenftenagel, a garden products importer from Indiana, to coin its new, more brandable name: Yumberry.
According to a New York Times article:
“Since the way they pronounced yang-mei in their dialect was ‘yang-mee,’ it sounded a little like ‘yummy,’ and that gave me the idea to call it ‘yumberry,’” Mr. Stenftenagel said. “We thought it might be a catchy name.”
Terry Xanthos, president of Alpine, Utah-based Früttzzo, couldn't agree more. "It's the best name in the history of fruit," he said. (And who could argue with someone who named his company "Frützzo"?) Xanthos told the Times he thinks "yumberry's the next pomegranate."
Stenftenagel coined "yumberry" in 2003. So far, though, the fruit has been available in the United States only in juice form; a 12-ounce bottle of organic juice costs about $3.60. Yumberries themselves, which are high in antioxidants and are used in China in many forms (including for traditional medicinal purposes), cannot be imported into the United States because of concerns about insect pests.
Application for a U.S. trademark for "Yumberry" (represented by the wordmark shown above) originated not with Frützzo but with two Chinese companies: Zhejiang Yumberry Juice Co., Ltd., of Zhejiang, and Shanghai Worth Garden Products Co., Ltd., of Shanghai.
According to its own trademark registration, Frützzo is a division of Fresco Bottling in Minneapolis. And Yumberry is not connected to Yum! Brands, owner of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, and many other restaurant businesses.
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