Ricola Hit With False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit

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Last week, cough drop maker Ricola USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the company makes false claims about the health benefits of its Ricola Herb Drop products.

Lead plaintiffs Timothy Minker and Valerie Liu filed their class action in New York federal court, alleging that Ricola has “engaged in and continues to engage in a widespread, uniform marketing campaign using the product packaging to mislead consumers about the naturalness of its Ricola Herb Drop Products.”

According to the cough drop class action lawsuit, Ricola “prominently represents ‘Naturally Soothing Relief that Lasts’ on the front of the packaging of each of the Products.” The plaintiffs argue that using the term “Naturally Soothing’ is deceptive because “it builds upon the fiction that the Products are made entirely of naturally occurring or minimally processed ingredients with no added non-natural or synthetic ingredients, when they are not.”

The plaintiffs argue in the Ricola class action lawsuit that “[t]he term ‘Natural’ only applies to those products that contain no non-natural or synthetic ingredients and consist entirely of ingredients that are only minimally processed.” However, the plaintiffs argue, Ricola’s Herbal Drop line contains “synthetic ingredients such as Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Citric Acid and Malic Acid, none of which is extracted from fruits but industrially synthesized via complex chemical synthetic routes and thus cannot be considered ‘minimally processed.’”

The plaintiffs claim that Ricola’s marketing practices concerning their Herbal Drop products are unfair, deceptive and fraudulent, an unconscionable trade and business practice and consist of false advertising.

According to the herbal cough drop class action lawsuit, Ricola “is well aware of consumer tendencies to seek out food products labeled as ‘Natural’ and takes advantage of them to mislead consumers.”

“By engaging in this deceptive scheme, [Ricola] wrongfully capitalized on and reaped enormous profits by playing on consumers’ strong preference for food products made entirely of natural or minimally processed ingredients, while forgoing the additional expense of actually providing products that are free of non-natural, synthetic and/or chemically processed ingredients,” the plaintiffs allege in the Ricola class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs claim that they, along with the proposed Class Members, were deceived by Ricola’s marketing and packaging of the Herbal Drop line, which can be purchased in CVS and Walgreens chains nationwide. The plaintiffs claim that they reasonably relied on the labels when deciding to purchase the cough drops for a premium price.

By filing the Ricola class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking to represent themselves and all other persons nationwide, who purchased from the Ricola Herbal Drop product line. They allege that Ricola’s marketing of its Herbal Drop line violates federal food and drug regulations, as well as , New York and California state laws.

Minker and Liu are represented by CK Lee of Lee Litigation Group.

The Ricola False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Minker v. Ricola USA Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-09014, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.