---
title: "Who Can Sell '6 7' Chicken Nuggets? Perdue Takes a Rival to Court"
description: "Perdue Foods has sued a Texas competitor in federal court, accusing it of copying the branding behind the viral '6 7' meme — and the nugget-shaped numbers at the center of a very modern trademark fight."
category: "U.S."
category_url: https://herald.la/category/us
author: "Gabriela Soto"
published: 2026-07-01T22:45:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-01T22:45:00.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/who-can-sell-6-7-chicken-nuggets-perdue-takes-a-rival-to-court
tags: ["chicken nuggets", "trademark", "meme", "Perdue", "food industry", "marketing"]
---
# Who Can Sell '6 7' Chicken Nuggets? Perdue Takes a Rival to Court

Perdue Foods has sued a Texas competitor in federal court, accusing it of copying the branding behind the viral '6 7' meme — and the nugget-shaped numbers at the center of a very modern trademark fight.

The internet's most inescapable in-joke has reached its logical endpoint: a courtroom.

## From meme to freezer aisle

The number pairing "6 7" bounced around social media for more than a year — spread by a viral rap track and by kids repeating it endlessly — before anyone shaped it into breaded chicken. The phrase became a Generation Alpha catchphrase after a young boy's exuberant video shouting it racked up millions of views, turning a meaningless pair of digits into a marketing opportunity.

Perdue Foods moved first. It launched limited-edition "6-7 Chicken Nuggets" — shaped like the numerals, with cartoon hands on the packaging echoing the meme's gesture — rolling them out at Walmart on May 1, and filed trademark applications covering the name and packaging, [Bloomberg Law reported](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/perdue-sues-soules-kitchen-over-6-7-chicken-nuggets-trademark).

## The rival — and the suit

Weeks later, Texas-based John Soules Foods announced its own "67 Chicken Nuggets" for Kroger and ALDI, also numeral-shaped and priced, cheekily, at $6.70. The company even hired the boy behind the original viral clip as a marketing figure. Perdue sent a cease-and-desist on June 9; when Soules declined to change course, Perdue sued on June 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, [Dexerto reported](https://www.dexerto.com/food/perdue-accuses-competitor-of-copying-its-6-7-chicken-nuggets-in-new-lawsuit-3379689/), alleging a "nearly identical" name, nugget shape, cartoon hands and packaging.

## What Perdue wants

Perdue says the overlap cost it real money, claiming a major grocery chain declined to stock its nuggets because it would already carry the Soules version. The company is asking the court to block its rival from using the "67" branding on chicken, order disputed products pulled, and award damages and fees, with a jury trial requested.

## The meme economy has fine print

The fight is a snapshot of the crowded business of chasing internet moments — restaurants and brands have all rushed to attach themselves to "6 7." Perdue's bet is that moving first, and filing its trademarks ahead of any rival, will persuade the courts that speed, not just participation, is what counts. A dispute that began as a schoolyard chant will now be settled the old-fashioned way: by lawyers.

## Sources

- [Perdue sues Soules Kitchen over '6 7 Chicken Nuggets' trademark](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/perdue-sues-soules-kitchen-over-6-7-chicken-nuggets-trademark)
- [Perdue accuses competitor of copying its 6-7 Chicken Nuggets in new lawsuit](https://www.dexerto.com/food/perdue-accuses-competitor-of-copying-its-6-7-chicken-nuggets-in-new-lawsuit-3379689/)