Magnum Ice Cream Lacks Vanilla, Class Action Says

A class action lawsuit claims that Magnum ice cream is flavored primarily with imitation vanilla and not real vanilla, as advertised.

According to plaintiff Sharon Dashnau, vanilla is one of the most popular flavors in general and in particular is one of the most popular ice cream flavors.

The Magnum ice cream class action lawsuit notes that vanilla is one of the world’s most expensive flavors and is at high risk for imitation because there are many vanilla substitutes that approximate the flavor of real vanilla.

Dashnau claims that Magnum advertises both bars and tubs of its ice cream as “vanilla’ flavored, but in reality, most of the vanilla flavoring is not real vanilla at all but is derived from vanilla substitute. 

To support this claim, Dashnau dissects the ingredients list of the Magnum products, noting that the ice cream itself is described to be flavored with “natural flavors” and not vanilla.

Allegedly, though vanilla is a natural flavor, it is conventional for the most specific form of an ingredient to be listed. Dashnau says that had the natural flavors in question actually been vanilla, vanilla would have been listed.

Defendant Unilever Manufacturing Inc. reportedly uses this vague description of “natural flavors” to mislead customers into thinking that the ice cream is flavored with vanilla and not imitation vanilla.

The Magnum ice cream flavor class action lawsuit asserts that Unilever intentionally tricks customers because they have a preference for genuine vanilla products over imitation ones. According to Dashnau, the company wants to capitalize on this preference to maximize its products.

However, this allegedly financially injured customers because they would not have purchased the ice cream or would not have paid as much for it had they known that the product was not as valuable as advertised.

According to the Magnum ice cream class action lawsuit, Unilever intentionally misled and confused customers about the nature of its products’ ingredients.

The Magnum ice cream class action lawsuit goes on to explain that in some cases, there is real vanilla extract in the Magnum products, but this extract is primarily in secondary ingredients.

For example, if there is milk chocolate in the ice cream, milk chocolate is listed as an ingredient and there is allegedly vanilla extract listed as a sub-ingredient for the milk chocolate.

According to Dashnau, though there is some vanilla extract in the products, there is far less vanilla than most customers would expect to be in the ice cream.

Have you ever purchased vanilla ice cream that you later found out was flavored with imitation vanilla? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

Dashnau is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC and Michael Reese of Reese LLP.

The Magnum Vanilla Ice Cream Flavoring Class Action Lawsuit is Sharon Dashnau v. Unilever Manufacturing Inc., Case No. 7:19-cv-10102, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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