Immaculate Baking Class Action Says Cake Mix Contains 50% Slack-Fill

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Immaculate Baking Co. has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its Cake Scratch Mix product contains an excessive amount of empty space that does not serve a functional purpose.

Plaintiff James Reider says he purchased Immaculate Baking Co.’s Yellow Cake Scratch Mix product in September 2017 in California and was surprised to discover when he opened the container that it was more than 50 percent empty.

According to the Immaculate Baking class action lawsuit, the average consumer spends just 13 seconds making a purchasing decision when shopping in a store, or between 10 and 19 seconds when shopping online.

Reider says the consumer’s decision is largely dependent on the product’s packaging, and that the majority of consumers do not look at the label information such as the product’s net weight when making a purchase.

Given the option between a smaller box and a larger box, consumers are more likely to select the bigger box because they believe they are getting a better deal, according to the Immaculate Baking class action lawsuit.

Reider says that the slack-fill in Immaculate Baking’s Yellow Cake Scratch Mix violates California’s Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, which states that containers that do not allow consumers to view the package contents are misleading if they contain nonfunctional slack-fill.

Under the California law, the empty space in a package is considered “nonfunctional” if it does not serve a specific purpose, if it is not the result of unavoidable settling during shipping, or if it is not the result of a certain machine used to seal the contents of the package.

According to the Immaculate Baking class action lawsuit, the Yellow Cake Scratch Mix is sold in a non-transparent container and therefore consumers cannot view the amount of product that is included in the package before purchase.

Reider argues that the 50 percent slack-fill is nonfunctional and therefore violates California law.

“Defendant intentionally incorporated non-functional slack-fill in its packaging of the Cake Scratch Mix products,” the Immaculate Baking class action lawsuit says. “As such, the packaging is per se illegal, and reliance upon the packaging by absent class members is presumed.”

Thousands of consumers have purchased the Immaculate Baking Cake Scratch Mix products that allegedly contain excessive slack-fill and have therefore been harmed by the company’s illegal conduct, Reider asserts.

Reider filed the Immaculate Baking class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of California residents who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, purchased Immaculate Baking Co. Cake Scratch Mix products with nonfunctional slack-fill as defined by California law.

The Immaculate Baking Cake Scratch Mix class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Reider is seeking injunctive relief, restitution, compensatory and punitive damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief deemed proper by the court.

Reider is represented by Scott J. Ferrell of Pacific Trial Attorneys.

The Immaculate Baking Cake Scratch Mix Slack-Fill Class Action Lawsuit is James Reider v. Immaculate Baking Co., et al., Case No. 8:18-cv-01085-JLS-AS, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.