What’s in a name? Rather a lot, as it happens.
In my newspaper days, I spent hours every week trying to write catchy headlines. Words intriguing enough to pull in readers without disclosing how the story unfolded.
Eventually, I got the hang of it.* A tiny triumph (and on newspapers you seize upon tiny triumphs like dogs on scraps) was opening the paper to find my headline fully intact. Which meant it hadn’t been demolished by the chief sub, the editor or a passing cleaner.
So when it came to naming my new food tech app, I waited expectantly for inspiration to strike. Three years and five attempts later, it finally wrestled me to the ground.
In chronological order, the main contenders:
1. Globescoffing
The original – and I’m still quite fond of it. I’ve kept it as YumTuc’s limited company name, mostly because I ended up paying for the trademark twice and had to extract some small shred of value from the mishap.**
I think the name Globescoffing conveyed the concept of trying new local eateries and dining around the world without a passport – my aim during those dark days of lockdown. But I did wonder if it felt too British, too retro. For me the name couldn’t help but conjure up an image of some monocle-wearing old bloke circumnavigating the earth on a penny farthing.
Anyway, I ran it past a close friend who thought the word itself was too long. So I went away, thought harder, ran a focus of group of one and came up with…
2. Scoff
Well, it’s shorter. Snappier. Fun. But it’s another very British term, particularly when linked with food. It also carries negative connotations – to dismiss, scorn, laugh at etc.
Stuart Rose, one of the first people I approached about the business and who was generous enough to a) get the concept b) invest in it and c) become chair, gave me some wise advice on names. Among his many senior roles, Stuart was MD of The Body Shop. At one point, the company came up with a name for a new mum and baby product. Everyone was thrilled until it was pointed out that the word already meant something mother-related in the Caribbean. But not in a good way.
With that in mind, Stuart suggested I checked ‘scoff’ wasn’t an obscenity elsewhere. I found a website, wordsafety.com, which claims to scour through 19 common languages and gave me the all clear. With one caveat:
‘There are over 6,000 languages spoken in the world. Somewhere deep in the Amazonian jungle, “scoff” could be an insult that gets you killed.’
On that reassuring note, I cancelled the summer holiday plans. But then came Stuart’s second tip: check if the name’s trademarked. He’d witnessed enough IP legal disputes over the years and had no desire to be back in court.
Deploying all my sleuthing skills (Companies House, LinkedIn – three clicks, excluding tea break), I discovered I had a connection to the trademark owner. We had a friendly meeting but came to the conclusion that sharing trademarks was probably not a good idea.
So after a lot more head-scratching…
3. Scofftime
Didn’t last long, thankfully. But then on to…
4. YumYuk
Brief explanation: I had countless ideas for app features, many of which didn’t make the cut. Mostly with good reason. But the first time you post a photo on the platform, you get the option to add a brief video that appears when foodies answer questions about your plates. If they get them right, they get a ‘Yeh!’. Or wrong, it’s ‘Neh!’. (Yes, I’m 50 years old.)
Initially, I planned to call this a ‘YumYuk’ which gave me the new name. But, after running it past a few eateries, I realised my intention to have a positive, friendly, non-judgmental platform would be entirely undermined the moment ‘Yuk!’ appeared on plates. So, after a lot more brow-beating, soul-searching and pacing around the house, I finally broke – and asked my family.
5. YumTuc
I wanted to keep ‘Yum’ for obvious reasons. But Yum what? Thankfully, at this point, my daughter took pity on me. Or just wanted me to stop me firing ludicrous names at her. She suggested YumTuc. Not ‘Tuk’, as that was too similar to TikTok (and a quick YumTuk search produced some grim looking stomach procedure videos). But ‘Tuc’ – an abbreviation of ‘tuck’ from a school tuck shop.
After one check on wordsafety.com to ensure I only had 5,981 languages to worry about, a second to see if it was trademarked and a third to secure the domain and social handles, I was done. Well, that was easy!
So have I anything sensible to share from my experience of name choosing and dropping? Not really. If you’re struck immediately by the proverbial thunderbolt, good for you. But if you’re anything like me, you may have to bring a wire coat hanger to a storm-battered field and wait patiently for nature to take its course.***
Join YumTuc on the App Store/Google Play by clicking here.
* Not sure if I’ve succeeded here but I’m unlikely to fire myself.
** Boring story alert: aware I’ve now contravened last week’s mission statement in its entirety but, if you ever trademark a name through the IPO [Intellectual Property Office], be sure to check your spam folder. I got an email back after my application which hit my spam box – so I didn’t reply in time and had to pay again for the registration. Boring story over. Until next time.
*** This is not actual business – or, indeed, life – advice.
