When you were in school and there was a fight between two students, did you ever have to take a side? If you’re like most people, you found yourself aligned with the person you thought was right. Well, there’s another type of fight going on between two bean bag chair companies and you’re going to want to take a side. The Moon Pod and the Yogibo are almost identical in design, but the founder of the Moon Pod is claiming he invented this type of chair nearly a decade after the Yogibo hit the market.
What’s the Problem?
At the heart of the battle between Yogibo and Moon Pod is whether they use the same technology to create the same product. Both bean bag chairs are filled with polystyrene microbeads, which are what give the bean bag chairs the ability to conform to the human body when someone sits or lays on them. These beads are contained in a separate zipped bag that’s covered by a cotton-blend fabric shell.
Other than the shape of the chairs (the Yogibo is a long rectangular shape and the Moon Pod looks remarkably like a giant bean) and the actual cotton-blend fabric used for the cover (the Yogibo uses a stronger, stretchier cotton-spandex blend while the Moon Pod uses a slightly inferior cotton-polyester blend), there isn’t much to separate these two chairs.
Certainly, there’s room for both products on the market, but the issue is that the Moon Pod founder, John Fiorentino is making claims in his marketing materials that he invented this bean bag technology even though the Yogibo was using this same technology for nine full years before the Moon Pod cropped up.
Willing to Go the Distance
Eyal Levy began making the Yogibo in 2008, when he wanted to find a product that would allow his then-pregnant wife to sleep on her stomach. The supportive polystyrene beads encased in a stretchy fabric cover provided her the weightless support she needed to finally get some rest. His friends expressed interest in having their own zero-gravity pillows and Levy began making more in his garage.
Levy has put in the time and effort to take his business from that garage in New Hampshire to 130 retail locations around the globe. If his competitor were claiming his product was a new take on the Yogibo or even an improved version of it, Levy wouldn’t have as much of a problem with the Moon Pod. But, because Fiorentino is claiming to have invented this technology, Levy can’t stand by and let Fiorentino take credit for Levy’s invention. He’s involved his attorneys in the fight and will use his recently-awarded patent to force Moon Pod to remove its proprietary claims.
The Right Side of the Battle
So, which side will you choose? It depends on whether you agree that Moon Pod is a completely different product from Yogibo or not. If you do, then perhaps you’ll take Fiorentino’s side. But, if you believe, as many Yogibo customers do, that the two products are too similar to be a coincidence, then you’ll find yourself rooting for Levy.
Conclusion
No matter which side you end up taking, it’s clear that the dispute between Yogibo and Moon Pod is far from over. In fact, it’s just heating up.