Starbucks Wants White Chocolate Energy Drink Class Action Tossed

Starbucks recently argued that their white chocolate energy drinks are labeled as “naturally and artificially flavored,” therefore a class action lawsuit against the coffee company should be dismissed.

Starbucks told a New York federal court that most consumers would not expect the product to contain real white chocolate based on the labeling.

“[A] reasonable consumer would not expect a product appropriately labeled ‘naturally & artificially flavored’ to be an imitation of white chocolate or be deceived into thinking that such a product would be a substitute for rather than flavored to taste like white chocolate,” Starbucks argued in their motion to dismiss the Starbucks class action lawsuit.

According to Starbucks, the class action lawsuit against them should be dismissed because the products comply with flavoring regulations set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The core of the Starbucks class action takes issue with the white chocolate being imitation, Starbucks claims, but disclosures on the products’ labeling makes the argument moot. Additionally, Starbucks points out that the court does not have jurisdiction over the allegations and that the claims instead fall under the FDA’s primary jurisdiction.

Starbucks cited several rulings to support their argument including a Supreme Court ruling and a Second Circuit ruling.

The company also asked the New York federal court to deny injunctive relief requested by the plaintiff. Injunctive relief would prevent Starbucks from selling their white chocolate energy drinks as they are currently labeled, which the company argues is an overreach because the labeling already complies with FDA regulations.

The Starbucks labeling class action lawsuit was filed in October 2018 by a consumer alleging that the energy drink’s lack of real white chocolate was misleading and a violation of federal and New York laws.

Plaintiff Juan Rafael Marten says he purchased a 12-pack of the white chocolate energy drinks off of Amazon, but later learned that the drinks contained imitation white chocolate rather than real white chocolate.

Marten takes issue with Starbucks representing their drinks as containing real white chocolate, arguing that “white chocolate signifies only one thing: a confection that contains cocoa butter, dairy ingredients and a sweetener.” Both state and federal regulations allegedly require white chocolate to have at least 20 percent cocoa butter and include cacao fat.

The Starbucks white chocolate energy drinks allegedly fail to include both of these ingredients.

The Starbucks labeling class action argued that the coffee company intentionally misrepresents their white chocolate energy drinks in order to take advantage of the value consumers place on white chocolate.

By taking advantage of this value, Starbucks allegedly was able to charge more for their product than consumers would have been willing to pay had they been aware that the white chocolate flavoring was imitation.

Marten is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Starbucks White Chocolate Energy Coffee Beverage Class Action Lawsuit is Marten v. Starbucks Corp., Case No. 1:18-cv­-09201, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.