What Does the "Food and Mood" Trademark Mean for Nutritionists?

marketing

If you’re a nutritionist, health coach, or wellness professional, chances are you’ve used the phrase "food and mood" to describe the link between what we eat and how we feel.

It’s practically second nature for us, isn’t it?

However: the term "Food and Mood" has recently been trademarked by someone in nutrition industry. While that doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about the connection entirely, it does mean we need to be more careful with how we use those words - especially in anything promotional.

What Does the Trademark Cover?

When a term is trademarked, the trademark holder gains exclusive rights to use it in specific areas (known as "classes"). This often includes areas like education, workshops, and marketing materials related to health and wellness.

In simple terms, this means you cannot:

Use "Food and Mood" as a title for your workshops, webinars, e-books, presentations, lead magnets or programmes.
Include it in the name of any branded product, service, or course.
Feature it prominently in marketing materials (e.g., "Join my Food and Mood course").

However, you can:

Use it in sentences when talking about the connection between diet and mental health in a general or educational context.
Write blogs or articles that discuss food and mood as a topic.

Examples of What’s Allowed and Not Allowed

✅ Allowed:

"There’s a clear connection between food and mood, as shown in emerging research."
"This workshop explores how nutrition impacts mental wellbeing."

❌ Not Allowed:

"Sign up for my Food and Mood workshop!"
"Introducing: The Food and Mood Plan for better mental health."
You cannot swap the words round to 'Mood and Food' as this is seen as a derivative of the trademark, and could be perceived as competitive

Steps You Can Take

To avoid any potential legal issues, here are a few tips:

Rework your titles: Instead of "Food and Mood Workshop," try "The Nutrition-Mind Connection."
Use synonyms: Phrases like "The Gut-Brain Axis," "Eating for Emotional Wellbeing," or "Nutrition and Mental Health" work just as well.
Be mindful of branding: If you’ve already used Food and Mood in your program names or marketing materials, consider updating them to avoid future complications.

Steps Your Governing Body Can Take

I know that BANT are collating content from NT's to build a case to get this trademark removed. If you have courses, programmes, e-books, webinars, presentations or alot of website content or social media content that uses 'Food and Mood' in the title, then do send this over to [email protected] to give them a hand with building a case.

If you are not registered with BANT, please consider contact your governing body. Ask them if they are aware and if they are opening a case with the IPO.

What Happens If You Continue Using It?

Risk of a cease-and-desist: The trademark owner could send you a legal notice to stop using the term, which might lead to legal costs.

A little pep-talk from me 🫶🏼

Trademarks exist to protect specific terms from being used commercially by others. While it might feel frustrating to adapt, it’s a reminder to focus on creating unique content and branding that stands out in its own right.

At the end of the day, our clients care about the work we do, not the words we use to describe it.

So let’s continue to spread the message about the powerful connection between nutrition and mental health - just with a few tweaks.

Got questions? Drop me an email [email protected]

Cheering you on,
Karen 🫶🏼