What began as a new personal care brand pitched to Clicks in 2023 grew into a national business generating more than R54-million in annual retail sales within two years, but that rapid success was not enough to convince the Western Cape High Court that a rival “Being” brand infringed its trademark rights.
Innovation Nest (Pty) Ltd, supplier of the fast-growing “Being Kind” personal care range sold exclusively through Clicks, failed in an urgent bid to stop rival distributor Alchemy Business Development (Pty) Ltd from selling “Being Inc.” haircare products in South Africa.
The court found that despite the commercial success and growing reputation of the “Being Kind” brand, consumers were unlikely to confuse the competing products.
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From new product concept to national retail brand
According to court papers, Innovation Nest conceived the “Being Kind” brand in April 2023 and presented it to Clicks in June that year as a new personal care offering centred on self-care and kindness.
The first products were launched in Clicks stores in November 2023. Over the next two years, the range expanded dramatically from an initial 14 products to 108 stock-keeping units covering body lotions, fragrances, deodorants, body washes, gift sets and home fragrance products.
The brand’s growth was equally impressive. Retail sales rose from R687,155 in 2023 to R14.7 million in 2024 before surging to R54.6-million in 2025. During January and February 2026 alone, the range generated retail sales of R17.3-million while selling more than 405 000 units.
Heavy marketing investment fuelled growth
Court documents show Innovation Nest invested heavily behind the expansion, spending more than R25-million on marketing and promotion.
The brand was supported through Clicks promotional campaigns, in-store displays, advertising brochures, social media marketing and direct digital campaigns.
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Innovation Nest told the court its digital marketing efforts reached millions of South Africans across multiple platforms while the products became available in 931 Clicks stores nationwide.
The company argued that the scale of those investments and sales had created substantial goodwill and consumer recognition around the “Being Kind” name.
Rival product launch sparks legal action
The dispute emerged in February 2026 when Innovation Nest became aware that Clicks intended introducing the “Being Inc.” haircare range supplied by Alchemy.
Innovation Nest argued that the use of the word “Being” by a competing personal care brand created a risk that consumers would assume a connection between the products. After unsuccessful attempts to persuade Clicks and Alchemy to halt the launch, the company approached the High Court seeking an urgent interdict.
The supplier claimed that the rival products infringed its registered “INNOVATION NEST BEING KIND” trademark and amounted to unlawful passing-off.
Court accepts brand built strong reputation
One of the notable aspects of the judgement is that the court acknowledged the remarkable growth of the “Being Kind” brand.
Acting Judge MW Janisch indicated that Innovation Nest may well have established a national reputation in the brand by the time the rival products entered the market. The court accepted evidence relating to sales growth, marketing expenditure, customer engagement and nationwide retail distribution.
However, reputation alone was not enough to win the case.
Why the trademark claim failed
The central legal question was whether consumers were likely to confuse the “Being Inc.” brand with Innovation Nest’s registered trade mark.
The court found that the registered mark was not simply “Being Kind” but rather the composite mark “INNOVATION NEST BEING KIND”. Judge Janisch concluded that the dominant idea within the “Being Kind” brand was the concept of kindness rather than the word “being”.
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According to the judgement, the word “kind” conveyed the core identity and message of the brand, whereas the word “being” by itself carried little distinctive significance. As a result, the court found that the rival “Being” branding did not share the dominant feature of Innovation Nest’s mark.
Differences in packaging also counted
The court also examined how customers would encounter the products in stores and online.
Judge Janisch noted that the products used different typography, different visual presentations and different packaging styles. The “Being Inc.” products featured a standalone “being” branding while Innovation Nest’s branding consistently focused on the concept of “Being Kind”.
The court concluded that an average customer was unlikely to assume that the two product ranges originated from the same source or were economically linked.
Passing-off case also rejected
Innovation Nest’s alternative argument was that Alchemy was passing off its goods as those of the successful “Being Kind” range.
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The court accepted that the company may have established a protectable reputation among Clicks customers. However, it found that Innovation Nest failed to prove the key element of misrepresentation.
Judge Janisch ruled that sharing the common word “being” was insufficient to persuade consumers that the rival products came from the same stable, particularly when the concept of kindness, regarded by the court as the defining feature of the brand, was absent from the competing products.
- What began as a new personal care brand pitched to Clicks in 2023 grew into a national business generating more than R54-million in annual retail sales within two years, but that rapid success was not enough to convince the Western Cape High Court that a rival “Being” brand infringed its trademark rights.
- Innovation Nest (Pty) Ltd, supplier of the fast-growing “Being Kind” personal care range sold exclusively through Clicks, failed in an urgent bid to stop rival distributor Alchemy Business Development (Pty) Ltd from selling “Being Inc.” haircare products in South Africa.
- The court found that despite the commercial success and growing reputation of the “Being Kind” brand, consumers were unlikely to confuse the competing products.
- Read more: Clicks revenue surpasses R50bn, thanks to aggressive store expansion From new product concept to national retail brand According to court papers, Innovation Nest conceived the “Being Kind” brand in April 2023 and presented it to Clicks in June that year as a new personal care offering centred on self-care and kindness.
- The first products were launched in Clicks stores in November 2023.
