Austin-Based 512 Tequila Suing Kendall Jenner For Stealing Their Look

There are plenty of celebrities who decide to take a dip into the liquor business, and there are several who own tequila companies. Nick Jonas created his tequila brand Villa One in 2019, rapper E-40 has his brand E. Cuarenta, Carlos Santana has Casa Noble, the Rock launched Teremana Tequila a year ago, and even AC/DC came out with their own, Thunderstruck Tequila. And tequila can be a very profitable business to be in. In 2017, George Clooney sold his Casamigos Tequila for an impressive $1 billion dollars. So it's easy to see why so many celebs are jumping at the chance to get their name on a tequila bottle.

Kendall Jenner, the reality star and runway model decided to take a chance and put her name on a new tequila brand called 818 Tequila. After the tequila was launched, a Texas tequila brand was quick to notice the similarities between 818 Tequila and their 512 Tequila. Back in May 2021 when Jenner first launched her tequila, KXAN News in Austin reported on how 512 Tequila was posting on social media about the similarities between the two brands. That post on Instagram has now since been deleted, but there are plenty of reasons why they think they have a case.

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512 brings up the similar color schemes between the two companies' bottles, not to mention the similar names which are based on area codes. 512 is the area code for Austin and 818 is the area code for the San Fernando Valley, where Jenner is from. The big piece of evidence for 512 is Jenner's older sister Kim Kardashian's app "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" which used a 512 bottle in the game when they meant to promote Jenner's 818 Tequila brand. The app developers didn't even notice the problem until 512 Tequila called them to tell them about the mistake. After, they changed the bottle in the game to one that had more similarities to Jenner's tequila brand.

512 Tequila wants the judge to stop production of the 818 Tequila brand and any profits the company has made. If you're wondering which brand you'd rather support, remember 512 Tequila is a Texas-based brand. On top of that is the price and quality difference, Austin's 512 Tequila is a triple-distilled blanco priced for $26.99, while 818 Tequila is a twice-distilled blanco for $44.99. Let your wallet and your palate make the choice.