22 Days Nutrition Class Action Says Protein Powder is Overpackaged

22 Days Nutrition protein powder is packaged to make purchasers think they’re getting more product than they actually are, according to a disappointed New York consumer.

Plaintiff Courtney Ross says defendants CoExist Nutrition LLC and Co.Exist Nutrition Corp. are overpackaging their Plant Power Protein Powder Supplement sold under the 22 Days Nutrition brand.

She argues that by marketing the product in a container that’s more than twice the product’s volume, the defendants are misleading consumers in violation of federal and state packaging requirements.

Ross says she bought a container of 22 Days Nutrition protein powder in August 2017. Not being able to see inside the opaque container, she relied on the container’s size to judge how much product she was buying.

After making her purchase, she claims, she was unpleasantly surprised to find the container held far less product than she was led to expect. Ross says more than half the container’s volume was empty space.

“The size of the Product container in comparison to the volume of the protein powder contained therein makes it appear to Plaintiff and Class members that they are buying more protein powder than is actually being sold,” Ross says. “Plaintiff and Class members are denied the benefit of their bargain because they pay for full containers of the Product but actually receive containers that are mostly air.”

Ross argues most of the empty space in 22 Days Nutrition’s packaging is “non-functional slack fill” that violates the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have similar laws that prohibit the use of non-functional slack-fill.

According to Ross’s class action complaint, non-functional slack-fill is empty space that serves no legitimate purpose. While slack-fill can be permissible for reasons like protecting the package’s contents or allowing for product settling, it runs the risk of misleading consumers as to how much product the package really contains, Ross claims.

Other, similar products from 22 Days Nutrition are not packaged with the same volume of slack-fill, Ross says, proving that the slack-fill in Plant Power Protein Powder containers is unnecessary and therefore non-functional.

She says a 14.3-ounce container of 22 Days Nutrition vanilla protein powder puts a larger volume of product in a much smaller container. Competitors like EAS also package their protein powders with considerably less slack-fill.

Ross seeks to represent all persons or entities in the U.S. who made retail purchases of 22 Days Nutrition Plant Power Protein Powder Supplement during the applicable statutory limitations period.

She seeks an injunction that would bar the defendants from continuing the allegedly deceptive packaging of its protein powder. She is asking for awards of actual and statutory damages, restitution and disgorgement of related revenues, reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.

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

The 22 Days Nutrition Protein Powder Overpackaging Class Action Lawsuit is Ross v. CoExist Nutrition LLC, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-00587, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.