Vanilla Bean Not Among Monster Energy Drink Ingredients, Class Action Lawsuit Says

A New York man has filed a class action lawsuit alleging Monster Energy drink ingredients don’t result in a French vanilla flavor as advertised.

Lead plaintiff Robert Kushner filed his class action lawsuit against Monster Energy Co. earlier this week in federal court. He claims drinks in the company’s Java 300 line that are represented as being French vanilla-flavored don’t actually taste like vanilla.

According to the class action lawsuit, the main Monster Energy drink ingredients contributing to the products’ flavor don’t include vanilla beans.

Kushner says he purchased the product several times, relying on representations made on the packaging that the drink would taste like vanilla.

However, he says not only would he not have purchased the product if the package’s claims had been misleading, but the product is actually worth less than what he paid for it.

Kushner says he intends to purchase the product again when he is confident the labeling is consistent with the Monster Energy drink ingredients.

The plaintiff argues that the demand for real vanilla has been on the rise “due to consumer demand for natural foods.” He quotes one flavor supplier who said customers “want real vanilla, not imitation [vanilla] flavoring.” 

The Monster Energy drink class action lawsuit explains vanilla’s main flavor component is vanillin, which, when “separated from the rest of the vanilla bean does not constitute vanilla flavor.”

Because of this, vanillin must be combined with other compounds to produce the flavor and smell consumers recognize as vanilla, Kushner says.

“The availability of low-cost vanillin resulted in foods purporting to contain vanilla, which either contained no vanilla or a trace or de minimis amount, boosted by synthetic vanillin,” the class action lawsuit says.

Congress has authorized regulations preventing companies from using deceptive labeling to sell their “vanilla” products when they don’t derive the vanilla taste solely from vanilla beans, Kushner’s complaint says.

When companies adhere to those regulations, Kushner says, consumers are able to tell from the product’s label whether the flavor is sourced from vanilla beans or from other ingredients.

The plaintiff claims that because the “French Vanilla” Monster Energy drink label didn’t qualify any of the terms, he and other reasonable consumers expected the product to have a vanilla taste consistent with that provided by vanilla beans.

The list of Monster Energy drink ingredients says “Natural Flavors (Contains Vanilla Extract);” however, the class action lawsuit says, it does not “clarify or disclose” that while a trace of real vanilla may be present, the main source of flavor comes from artificial vanilla flavoring and, therefore, doesn’t actually taste like vanilla.

According to the class action lawsuit, an analysis of the product showed an “abnormal excess of vanillin” among the Monster Energy drink ingredients “relative to the amount and presence of the key odor-active compounds in authentic vanilla.” 

That allegedly indicates the product contains vanillin that comes from “non-vanilla sources.”

The complaint claims Monster Energy Co. is guilty of violations of New York General Business Law; breaches of express warranty, implied warranty of merchantability and the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act; fraud; negligent misrepresentation; and unjust enrichment.

With his Monster Energy drink ingredients class action lawsuit, Kushner is seeking injunctive relief directing Monster Energy to fix or stop their unlawful practices. He also seeks restitution and disgorgement and awards of monetary damages and interest, costs and expenses, and any other relief the Court deems proper.

Do you think Monster energy drink ingredients make the product taste less like vanilla? Let us know in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan and Associates PC.

The Monster Energy Drink Ingredients Class Action Lawsuit is Robert Kushner, et al. v. Monster Energy Co., Case No. 1:20-cv-05606, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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