Breyers Class Action Lawsuit: Ice Cream Doesn’t Contain Enough Vanilla

A Breyers class action lawsuit claims that the company’s “Vanilla Bean” ice cream is deceptively marketed to consumers who think that it’s only flavored with real vanilla.

Breyers Low Fat Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is, in reality, flavored with non-vanilla imposter ingredients, alleges lead plaintiff Francine Civello.

However, the maker of Breyers, Conopco Inc., reportedly uses the words “Vanilla Bean” and images of vanilla flowers and seed pods to make consumers think that real vanilla is included.

“The representations are misleading because though the flavor is represented as being derived from vanilla and vanilla beans, the vanilla taste and flavor is not provided exclusively by vanilla and vanilla beans,” alleges the Breyers class action.

In addition to deceiving consumers, the complaint says that Breyers unfairly competes with other products that use real vanilla and charges a premium for their ice cream, $2.49 a pint, that does not include the real ingredient.

According to the Breyers class action lawsuit, vanilla is derived from seed pods of the vanilla plant called vanilla beans. The plant is difficult to grow, so real vanilla is expensive. Vanilla is an extremely popular flavor, however, making the ingredient highly susceptible to impersonation, or food fraud, alleges the complaint.

Imposters include vanillin, a synthetic version of vanilla. Although vanillin can be derived from vanilla, only one to two percent of the substance currently in use has any connection to the bean, claims the complaint. Most vanillin is made from ferulic acid or eugenol, from cloves, says the plaintiff.

Although some food manufacturers claim that vanillin is a natural flavoring, according to the Breyers lawsuit, it is not. Though vanillin can be made through a natural fermentation process, it is extremely expensive to do so, so most are made in China using a chain of chemical reactions, alleges the complaint, with little to no oversight by regulators.

Manufacturers have reportedly moved to curb the use of real vanilla through schemes to reduce the amount of real vanilla produced by farmers and the increase in the use of “vanilla with other natural flavors.”

In addition, the Breyers class action suit points out that the market for spent vanilla beans, to make the black flecks that signify the use of real vanilla in the product to consumers, has skyrocketed well above the production of vanilla seeds or extract.

The Breyers class action lawsuit asserts that food manufacturers are attempting to use less real vanilla to more cheaply produce their products, but failing to inform consumers that they are using vanilla imposter flavors.

The plaintiff says she and other consumers would not have purchased or paid as much for the Breyers Low Fat Vanilla Bean Ice Cream had they known that it was not flavored with real vanilla.

The Breyers class action seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased the product. The plaintiff is seeking damages along with a court order enjoining Conopco from allegedly misleadingly marketing the product.

Did you think Breyers Low Fat Vanilla Bean Ice Cream contained real vanilla? Describe your experience in the comments below!

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC, and Michael R. Reese of Reese LLP.

The Breyers Ice Cream Class Action Lawsuit is Civello v. Conopco Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-01173, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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