You see, the problem with trying to rip off Nando’s is that is far too recognisable. The lemon and herb sauce on the half chicken. The refillable drinks. Texting your mates, “Shall we have a ………………… cheeky one?” and receiving the same, exuberant, “YES SON” every time. The font, the chicken with its little heart, the peri-peri everything. Any self-respecting Brit can recognise a Nando’s a mile off.
And yet none of this stopped Asam Aziz from naming his Berkshire restaurant “Fernando’s Peri Peri Restaurant.” Unsurprisingly, Nando’s aren’t very happy about it.
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According to the BBC, Aziz, director of Fernando’s Peri Peri Restaurant, received a letter from Nando’s earlier this month accusing him of intellectual property rights infringement and asking him to rebrand. The Nando’s legal representative wrote: “We believe [Fernando’s Peri Peri Restaurant] is trying to benefit from some of the things that make us who we are.”
However, according to Aziz, the name “Fernando’s” is inspired by the fictional island contestants are sent to on the ITV dating game show, Take Me Out. He believes that Nando’s is deliberately trying to force his restaurant to close.
“They are bullying me. It’s such a worry; I’m just an independent business owner,” Aziz told the BBC. “I think they’re threatened by me and my menu.”
“Why have they [Nando’s] left it until now to contact me with this; why not do it right at the start?” he continued.
Aziz’s restaurant, which opened seven months ago, shares a similar typeface to Nando’s, a similar chicken logo, and um, seems to use exactly the same plates.
A cheeky Fernando’s anyone?
