Vega Protein Powder Containers are Only 1/3 Full, Class Action Claims

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Two California woman have hit WhiteWave Foods and its parent company, Danone, with a class action lawsuit alleging its pricey Vega Protein Powder containers are more than half empty when they’re sold.

Lead plaintiffs, Rebecca Padilla and Kimberly Owens, say they both were fooled into thinking Vega Protein Powder containers were filled with more product than they actually received because of the opaque packaging used by WhiteWave Foods.

The plaintiffs claim that they would not have purchased or paid as much for the powdered protein product had they known the containers were more than half empty.

“The Vega Food and Protein Powders are advertised and sold in sealed, opaque plastic containers significantly comprised of non-functional empty space,” alleges the Vega Protein Powder class action lawsuit. “This packaging prevents the consumer from directly seeing or handling the product and leads reasonable consumers to believe that the package contains significantly more product than it actually does.”

Padilla says she was “shocked” when she opened the Vega Protein & Greens powder product she purchased and found that the container was mostly empty space. She says that due to the opaque packaging, she will not buy the product again because she cannot verify its contents.

Owens, who also purchased the Vega Protein & Greens powder, says she relied on the size of the container when deciding to purchase multiple containers of the WhiteWave Foods product. She says that she too was shocked and upset when she found that all of the containers she purchased were substantially underfilled – in fact, the containers were allegedly only one-third of the way full.

“Plaintiff has not purchased any Vega Food and Protein Powders since her August 2018 purchase because she felt she overpaid for the under-filled Vega products,” states the Vega Protein Powder class action lawsuit.

Though some empty space is necessary and the result of product settling during transport, alleges the Vega Protein Powder class action lawsuit, any additional empty space is considered “non-functional” and is illegal under California law.

“Vega Food and Protein Powders’ packaging is ‘filled to be misleading’ due to the amount of slack fill it employs that is non-functional,” alleges the Vegan Protein & Greens powder class action lawsuit.

“For example, the Vega One All-in-One Shake contains approximately 50% empty space, including the space taken by the internally packaged scoop, and the packaging does not indicate the capacity of the container as it relates to the amount of product contained therein, thus preventing a reasonable consumer from determining the striking difference in volume between the capacity of the container and the fill amount.”

The plaintiffs allege that WhiteWave Foods is aware that their Vega Protein Powder products contain an excessive amount of empty space – in fact, they do so to entice consumers into believing they are getting more product than they are paying for.

“A reasonable consumer cannot accurately determine the fill of the Vega Food and Protein Powders by shaking or squeezing the packaging, and is certainly not expected to do so prior to purchasing them,” alleges the Vega Protein Powder class action lawsuit.

The Vega protein shake class action lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased any number of containers of Vega Food and Protein Powders, along with California subclasses.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages, along with a court order requiring WhiteWave Foods to cease its allegedly deceptive advertising, sales, and other business practices regarding Vega Protein Powder products.

The lead plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett, and Trisha K. Monesi of Capstone Law APC.

The Vega Protein Powder Class Action Lawsuit is Padilla, et al. v. The WhiteWave Foods Company, et al., Case No. 2:18-cv-09327-JAK-JC, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.