Jamba Juice Class Action Challenges ‘Healthy’ Smoothie Claims

Jamba Juice, a popular smoothie retailer, faces a class action lawsuit from consumers alleging that the company misleads its customers about the “healthy” nature of their smoothie products.

Plaintiffs Teri Turner and David Lundquist recently filed the Jamba Juice class action claiming that the smoothie store wrongfully portrays that their drinks are healthy and contain real fruits and “super ingredients.”

Turner and Lundquist are customers of Jamba Juice who say they relied on Jamba Juice’s advertisements and marketing when purchasing drinks.

The Jamba Juice smoothies class action lawsuit claims both plaintiffs believed representations that the beverages were healthy and free of additives, and that they paid a premium price based on these representations.

Turner and Lundquist argue that they were financially injured due to the allegedly false portrayals and they would not have paid a premium for their Jamba Juice smoothies had they known the truth.

Jamba Juice allegedly markets their “whole fruit and vegetable smoothies” as healthy and nutritious, claiming that the drinks will “[r]ejuvenate your body with . . . healthy goodness” and “help you be the best version of yourself.”

Through advertising and marketing, Jamba Juice smoothies are portrayed as containing real fruit and veggies. However, Turner and Lundquist claim that this portrayal is deceptive and false, and that the company’s smoothies contain cheaper, non-natural ingredients.

In their Jamba Juice class action, Turner and Lundquist say that the smoothie shop substitutes their advertised whole ingredients for cheaper, less nutritious options. Instead of whole fruits and vegetables, Jamba Juice allegedly uses juice, juice concentrates and sherbet in their smoothies.

Instead of the advertised “super ingredients” such as kale, Jamba Juice reportedly uses cheaper ingredients. Additionally, the Jamba Juice class action claims that the smoothies contain additives and added sugars despite advertising the opposite.

“Jamba Juice’s labeling and marketing practices deceive consumers about the true ingredients, benefits, and/or nutritional profile of the Smoothies,” the plaintiffs claim. “Jamba Juice Smoothies typically include non-whole, cheaper, and/or nutritionally distinct, and inferior, predominant ingredients.”

Turner and Lundquist argue that Jamba Juice takes advantage of the widespread interest in healthy food options by portraying their sub-par smoothies as healthy and nutritious.

“Jamba Juice’s marketing and labeling of its Smoothies is likely to deceive reasonable consumers about their ingredient and nutritional profile. Jamba Juice either knew or reasonably should have known that the claims in the marketing, advertising, and labeling of the Smoothies were likely to deceive reasonable consumers,” plaintiffs argue in their Jamba Juice class action.

Turner seeks to represent a California Class of consumers who purchased Jamba Juice smoothies since Aug. 24, 2014. Lundquist seeks to represent a similar Class of New York consumers who purchased Jamba Juice smoothies since Aug. 24, 2012.

The Jamba Juice class action lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, statutory damages, compensatory damages and other monetary damages, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Plaintiffs are represented by Maia C. Kats and Matthew B. Simon of the Center for Science in the Public Interest; and Michael R. Reese and George V. Granade of Reese LLP.

The Jamba Juice Smoothies Class Action Lawsuit is Turner, et al. v. Jamba Inc., et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-05168, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.