PepsiCo Class Action: Naked Juice ‘No Sugar Added’ Claims Deceptive

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A class action filed this week in New York federal court accuses PepsiCo Inc. of misleading consumers by marketing its Naked juice and smoothie products as having no added sugar even though they often contain more sugar than a can of Pepsi.

Plaintiffs Dina Lipkind, Lyle Takeshita and Chad Fenwick assert that PepsiCo touts its Naked products as healthy and nutritious.

According to the Naked juice class action lawsuit, the Naked beverages are named after nutritious foods and ingredients, such as kale, and the labels feature photographs of those ingredients.

However, the plaintiffs allege PepsiCo’s claims regarding the Naked juice ingredients are false and misleading because the beverages consist mostly of cheaper, less nutritious ingredients such as apple juice.

The Naked class action lawsuit asserts that Pepsi prominently displays the claim “NO SUGAR ADDED” on the Naked beverage labels, leading consumers to falsely believe the products are low in sugar.

The plaintiffs assert that Pepsi is in violation of federal regulations by not prominently qualifying the claim with the following phrase: “not a low calorie food.”

Further, Pepsi fails to include a reference to the nutrition facts panel for further information about the beverages’ sugar and calorie content, which the Naked juice class action lawsuit also asserts is a violation of regulations.

“Naked beverages contain between 35 and 61 grams of sugar per serving—that is, between approximately 6 and 15 teaspoons of sugar each,” the Naked smoothie class action lawsuit states. “A can of Pepsi has 41 grams of sugar, or approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar.”

The plaintiffs also claim that Pepsi’s “the goodness inside” ingredient key leads consumers to believe that drinking a Naked juice or smoothie beverage is nearly the same as consuming the fruits and vegetables depicted on the product label.

According to the Naked juice class action lawsuit, many of the vitamins in the products don’t actually come from fruits and vegetables but are actually added by the manufacturer.

The Naked juice class action lawsuit asserts that the plaintiffs purchased the Naked beverages because they believed they “contained a different ingredient value and nutritional profile than they do.” The plaintiffs say they would not have purchased the products if they had known the products were deceptively marketed to appear healthier than they really are.

PepsiCo has capitalized on consumers’ growing desire to pay higher prices for products that are healthy and nutritious, the Naked class action lawsuit states.

To entice consumers to purchase Naked products, the plaintiffs allege PepsiCo deceptively includes “super” ingredients in the product names even though the predominant ingredients are apple juice or orange juice.

Some of the products named in the Naked juice class action lawsuit include: Naked Juice Acai Machine, Naked Juice Bright Beets, Naked Juice Kale Blazer, Naked Juice Protein & Greens and Naked Juice Probiotic Machine Tropical Mango.

By filing the Naked juice class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of U.S. consumers who purchased one or more Naked products since Oct. 2, 2010. They are also seeking certification of New York and California subclasses.

The plaintiffs are represented by Maia C. Kats of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Michael R. Reese and George V. Granade of Reese LLP.

The Naked Juice Sugar Content Class Action Lawsuit is Dina Lipkind, et al. v. PepsiCo. Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-05506, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.