It’s not every day that a moustached man takes down a mythical siren. But in Pakistan, that’s exactly what just happened. After 12 years of courtroom drama, Sattarbuksh, the Lahore café born out of satire, has officially defeated Starbucks in a trademark battle that the global giant thought it had in the bag.
Sattarbuksh VS Starbucks: Legal Battle
According to Indians.com, back in 2013, Rizwan Ahmad and Adnan Yousuf decided to poke fun at Pakistan’s growing obsession with international coffee culture. Their idea was simple; they decided to create a parody café with a name that felt familiar but cheeky.
“Sattar” is a common Pakistani name; “buksh” translates loosely to “servant.” Together, it sounded like Starbucks’ distant cousin from the mohalla. The logo? Not a mermaid, but a moustached man who looked like he had just walked out of a Bollywood set.
Starbucks didn’t find the joke funny. From Seattle to Lahore, lawyers were called in, lawsuits were filed, and the appeal was to shut it down. But the local café owners didn’t comply. They tweaked the branding just enough to keep the satire sharp while making sure no one could accuse them of outright copying.
Over the years, Sattarbuksh grew from a witty one-off into a full-fledged chain. Unlike Starbucks, which built its empire on lattes and frappuccinos, Sattarbuksh leaned into variety with burgers, sandwiches, desserts, and even shisha. “We’re not just a coffee shop,” explained Managing Director Armaghan Shahid after the verdict. “Starbucks sells coffee. We sell an experience.”
Memes Flood In As The Lahore Coffee Chain Wins
The court seemed to agree on this positioning. Starbucks may have global dominance with more than 16,000 outlets, but in Pakistan, it couldn’t prove that Sattarbuksh was confusing customers. And so, the parody survived, as stated by Indians.com.
The internet, of course, had a field day. Twitter, Instagram, TikTok ,all became flooded with memes celebrating the underdog win. Some called it the “dupe that refused to die.” Others joked that Pakistan had pulled off the most successful rebrand in history: from a sea siren to a desi uncle with a moustache.
Reddit threads roasted Starbucks for even filing the lawsuit, with one viral comment reading, “Imagine being a billion-dollar giant crying over a desi café with shisha and samosas.” Memes flooded timelines showing the moustached logo sipping chai with captions like “corporate who?” and “this uncle just tanked your siren.” Others joked that Pakistan had unlocked the “ultimate level of parody law,” proving once and for all that in this battle of caffeine and culture, the moustache beats the mermaid every time.
What started as a joke over coffee has now become part of café folklore. Sattarbuksh’s victory is a reminder that sometimes humour, local flavour, and a bit of audacity can outlast the polished muscle of a global corporation. And in this case, the moustache wins.
Cover Image Courtesy: starbucks/website and sattarbuksh/instagram
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