Kroger has found itself at the center of a scandal involving the alleged theft of marketing materials and business concepts from a small, Nashville-based company. The Peach Truck, a lifestyle brand known for delivering fresh peaches nationwide, has publicly accused Kroger of misappropriating their intellectual property for a new peach-selling initiative, according to The Tennessean.
The scandal unfolded when Stephen Rose, co-founder of The Peach Truck, stumbled upon a Google alert for his company. Rose explained in a viral social media post, captioned, “Hey @krogerco, what’s up with this?!,” “I was shocked at the image they used. This image looks super familiar to me for several reasons. The reason it looks so familiar is because I recognize the person in the photo.”
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Rose’s Instagram reel highlighted two examples of alleged intellectual property theft. The first involved a photograph of a man holding two boxes of peaches, wearing a blue polo and hat, standing in front of a blue Kroger semi-truck. Rose identified the individual as a former Peach Truck team member who had sold peaches for the company the previous summer. The original photo showed the same man in a grey polo and green hat positioned in front of an orange Peach Truck semi-truck.
The second instance involved an image of a truck selling peaches outside a Kroger event. Rose claimed this photo bore an uncanny resemblance to a 2020 photograph of The Peach Truck, featuring an identical setup, boxes, and trucks. In his video, Rose addressed the retail giant directly, stating, “Kroger, you are a multi-billion – yes, billion with a ‘b’ – dollar corporation. Do you really need to take our marketing and re-edit it on top of taking our business model?”
The allegations quickly gained traction on social media platforms, prompting Kroger to respond. In an email to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a Kroger spokesperson acknowledged the mistake, saying, “We were embarrassed to learn about this. You could say we have peach on our face! While these images were not approved to be shared as part of our marketing campaign, they should never have been created in the first place. We have removed the images from our system.” The spokesperson also extended an apology to The Peach Truck, wishing them “nothing but success,” per The Tennessean.
However, Rose was unconvinced by Kroger’s response. In a follow-up video, he questioned, “How do you learn about something you did?” Highlighting the deliberate nature of the copying, he stated, “I think the hard thing about this is it’s an intentional copy of our brand, our model, the way we do things, and they took it so far as using an image of a person who used to work for us in their marketing.”
Joanna Mariani, Vice President of Marketing at The Peach Truck, told FOX 17 News that after their social media post went viral, numerous small business owners reached out to share similar experiences of being taken advantage of by larger corporations.
Mariani emphasized the need for a more serious approach from Kroger, stating, “Kroger gave a real cheeky response and there’s really nothing cute or funny about stealing from small businesses. We haven’t heard directly from Kroger and I think they need to take this more seriously.”
The controversy has also raised questions about the potential misuse of AI in content creation. Mariani expressed concern about the broader implications, saying, “But I also think there’s a bigger conversation we need to have around the use of AI and the protection of entrepreneurs and creatives to make sure this doesn’t continue to threaten them.”
Rose shared that following the incident, he has received many emails and messages from other small business owners who have experienced the same thing. He pleaded with larger corporations, saying, “It’s just so unacceptable. You have so many resources. Please find the creativity inside of your own organization and don’t take the hard work of small businesses like ourselves,” reported The Tennessean.
The Peach Truck has stated they do not intend to pursue legal action. With their peak season ending in September, the company is focusing on providing customers with high-quality peaches. Rose noted their unique position, stating, “No one can replicate what The Peach Truck does since they only sell and focus on one product.”
