Kendall Jenner’s Tequila Accused of Being a Rip-Off of Established Brand

Kendall Jenner launched her tequila brand, 818 Tequila, in May. But, the brand is already facing a good amount of criticism. In particular, the brand has been criticized by fellow tequila brand, Tequila 512, which has claimed that Jenner’s company ripped off their concept.

On the official Instagram page for Tequila 512, they pointed out that the logo on bottles of 818 Tequila resembles their own. Both of the logos feature their respective numerical names prominently on a yellow background. Additionally, Tequila 512 wrote that Jenner’s tequila company is made at the same distillery in Tequila, Mexico, as their own. They went on to write that despite these similarities, Jenner’s company is selling their bottle of tequila at a much higher price point.

“Their batches are being distilled twice. Ours three times,” Tequila 512 wrote on Instagram. “Yet she is charging twice as much per bottle. And here we are getting messages like the one in this post image. Doesn’t seem very cool.” The brand referenced one of the messages that they received, which saw someone commenting on a photo of 818 Tequila and writing, “Is that you or did someone copy you?” That’s not the only aspect of her new tequila brand that’s catching some flak. Jenner recently shared an ad for 818 Tequila that involved her riding a horse through agave fields in Mexico while wearing an outfit and hairstyle that some have said is associated with Mexican culture.

Shortly after Jenner shared the ad on Instagram, she disabled comments on the post. On Twitter, users subsequently criticized the model for what they believe to be cultural appropriation. One user wrote, “check out [Kendall Jenner] doing her best impression of a Mexican laborer! so refreshing to see that nepotism and cultural appropriation is still a profitable combo.” At the moment, Jenner has not responded to the backlash towards the ad or to her brand’s logo.