14 July 2023 , 12:23
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Coronation Street fans may soon be able to get their teeth into food from Weatherfield’s Freshco supermarket.
The store was famously run by Curly Watts and Reg Holdsworth.
Now fiction is set to become fact after ITV bosses applied to trademark the Freshco brand with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office.
It means ITV could sell food, drinks, booze and homewares using the Freshco name.
The Weatherfield store became one of Britain’s most famous supermarkets in the country’s when it was run by the hapless pair - played by Kevin Kennedy and Ken Morley in the 1990s with the slogan: ‘Freshness That’s Right Up Your Street’.
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It was then called Bettabuys before a storyline saw the store in the fictional Albert Street taken over by American giant Freshco.
The store was famously run by Curly Watts and Reg Holdsworth (ITV)The application was filed last month and will stay in place for 10 years once rubber-stamped.
An intellectual property lawyer who has seen the papers said: “First, the trademark bolsters the TV company’s ability to take action against third parties who may be using the relevant name in the course of trade without consent.
“The mere presence of these kinds of trademarks on the register can also act as a deterrent, where a third party is considering using the name without their consent.
“Secondly, it improves ITV’s ability to enter into agreements to commercialise the Freshco brand.
ITV bosses applied to trademark the Frescho brand (ITV)“In this case as it is a TV firm, they will wish to license out the trademarks to partners and earn royalties that way.”
The Co-op has already launched two Coronation Street products inspired by ‘Roy’s Rolls’ -Roy Cropper’s cafe.
The food lines include a six-pack of ‘Roy’s Rolls’ for £1.15 and The Kabin’s exclusive rhubarb and custard cupcakes, which are priced at £1.25 for a pack of two and £2 baps.
The Co-op announced its tie-in with the show in 2018., previously creating the Coronation Street chicken sandwich and Betty’s Hotpot, as well as a specially designed shopping bag.