German Appeals Court Weighs Whether Vegan Drink Can Be Sold as Liqueur Without Egg

A German appeals court is set to decide whether a vegan drink that contains no egg can legally be sold under the name “Likör ohne Ei,” or “liqueur without egg,” in a case that could shape how alternative spirits are labeled in one of Europe’s biggest beverage markets.

The Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court in the city of Schleswig is due to deliver its ruling on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. local time. The case centers on a dispute between a spirits industry protection group and a small producer in Henstedt-Ulzburg, in northern Germany, that makes a soy-based vegan liqueur.

The legal fight turns on EU spirits rules and how far they protect established product names. In an earlier ruling, the Kiel Regional Court said in October 2025 that the label “Likör ohne Ei” did not violate EU law and was not misleading to consumers. The industry group appealed that decision, arguing that the product name still makes an impermissible reference to egg and conflicts with EU rules that reserve the term “Eierlikör,” or egg liqueur, for products that actually contain egg.

According to the appellant, the issue is not only whether the soy-based drink is clearly identified as egg-free, but whether any direct reference to egg can be used at all for a product outside the protected category. The group argues that the EU spirits regulation sets clear boundaries for protected names and that those limits would be weakened if products without the required ingredients could still market themselves by referring to them.

The producer at the center of the case has taken the opposite view. The company’s position, as reflected in the lower court ruling, is that the phrase “without egg” makes the product’s nature plain and does not deceive buyers. The Kiel court agreed with that reasoning when it found that consumers would understand from the label that the product is not egg liqueur and does not contain egg.

The appeal has drawn attention because it touches on a wider question that is growing across the food and drinks business: how traditional, regulated product names can be used when producers develop plant-based or otherwise modified alternatives. In the beverage sector, the court’s decision could have effects beyond this one soy-based liqueur. A ruling that limits references to protected spirits names may force producers of egg-free alternatives to change labels, review compliance practices, and rethink how they market new products in Germany. If the court allows the current wording, it could give more room for makers of nontraditional spirits-style drinks to signal to consumers what kind of product they are offering, as long as the labeling is clear.

The case involves a relatively small producer, but the legal question reaches into a tightly regulated area of European product law. Spirits names are often protected in the same way that other food and drink designations are, with rules tied to ingredients, production methods, and consumer expectations. Courts are often asked to balance those protections against the need for labels to describe new products accurately and in a way shoppers can understand.

That balance is especially important in categories where a traditional name carries both legal status and strong commercial value. For established spirits producers, the case is about preserving the limits around recognized designations. For newer entrants, especially those selling plant-based or vegan products, it is about whether they can explain a product by reference to a familiar category without crossing into misuse of a protected term.

The Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court is expected to decide that question in the appeal on Wednesday morning, nearly a year after the Kiel court ruled in favor of the Henstedt-Ulzburg producer that makes the soy-based “Likör ohne Ei.”