Wellness pet food falsely advertised as natural, class action claims

Pet food class action overview: 

• Who: A New York woman is suing Wellness Pet Company.
• Why: She claims the company’s “natural” pet food labels are deceptive. 
• Where: The pet food class action was filed in a New York federal court.

A New York woman is suing Wellness Pet Company claiming its “natural” pet food labels are deceptive. 

Plaintiff Caroline Van Wagner filed the class action lawsuit against Wellness Pet Company Inc. and WellPet LLC on Nov. 22 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.

According to the lawsuit, the companies market their products as natural while including synthetic ingredients such as xanthan gum, tricalcium phosphate and pyridoxine hydrochloride.

Lawsuit accuses Wellness Pet of misleading ‘natural’ labeling on pet food

Van Wagner claims she bought Wellness Shreds Healthy Indulgence pet food earlier this year, believing it contained only natural ingredients. 

The Wellness class action alleges that the inclusion of synthetic additives undermines the product’s advertised health benefits, exploiting the growing market for natural pet food among health-conscious pet owners.

Wellness Pet and WellPet, both based in Massachusetts, sell their products online and in retail stores across the country. The lawsuit asserts that their marketing strategy capitalizes on the perception that natural pet food is safer and healthier.

“Reasonable consumers would understand ‘natural’ to mean free of synthetic substances,” the lawsuit claims, highlighting that some synthetic ingredients are not even part of the added vitamins and minerals disclosed on the packaging. 

The Wellness class action lawsuit says the company’s practices unjustly enriched the defendants at the expense of customers paying a premium for “natural” products.

As a result, Van Wagner is looking to represent all U.S. consumers who bought the allegedly mislabeled products. 

She is suing for violations of state consumer laws, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment and seeks certification of the class action, damages of more than $5 million, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

Earlier this year, consumers filed class action lawsuits involving Nestlé Purina Petcare, Big Heart Pet Brands, Mid-America Pet Food and Nutramax Laboratories. Bausch + Lomb and Mars Petcare also recently initiated a recall. The lawsuits involve noxious odors, false advertising and contamination concerns involving salmonella, bacteria, fungi and loose metal pieces

What do you think of the allegations in this pet food class action? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Joshua D. Arisohn and Julian C. Diamond at Bursor & Fisher P.A.  

The Pet food class action lawsuit is Caroline Van Wagner v. Wellness Pet Company Inc. et al., Case No. 7:24-cv-08946 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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