Nature Valley class action claims General Mills deceives customers over amount of honey in granola bars

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Natural Valley General Mills Honey Granola Bars class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: A Nature Valley granola bar customer is suing General Mills.
• Why: The plaintiff says General Mills falsely markets its Nature Valley Honey Granola Bars in regards to the amounts of the ingredients.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

General Mills falsely markets its Nature Valley Honey Granola Bars because they don’t contain much honey and contain other ingredients besides oats and honey, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Shannon Hunt filed the class action lawsuit against General Mills Sales Inc. on May 29 in an Illinois federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.

General Mills Sales Inc. makes and sells granola bars represented as containing oats and honey under the Nature Valley brand.

The label states “Oats ’n Honey” and features pictures of loose fresh oats, a dripping honey dipper and the statement, “Made With Crispy Oats & Delicious Honey,” the lawsuit states.

According to the plaintiff, the front-label representations tell consumers the product will contain two ingredients — oats and honey — and that honey is a significant sweetener ingredient in the product. 

However, the representations are “false and misleading because the Product contains ingredients other than oats and honey and contains a de minimis amount of honey relative to conventional sugars,” the class action lawsuit says.

Though the front label promotes honey through the name, “Oats ‘n Honey” and the dripping honey dipper, the amount of honey is less than consumers expect, the lawsuit states. 

Nature’s Valley class action claims product contains ingredients other than oats, honey

The representation of “Oats ‘n Honey” with pictures of oats and honey is misleading because the product contains ingredients besides oats and honey, the lawsuit states.

“Given the brand name of ‘Nature’s Valley,’ consumers will expect the granola bar to be made with only oats and honey because these are natural ingredients from nature,” the class action states.

Because of the alleged false marketing, customers paid more than they should have for the product, according to Hunt. 

She would like to represent anyone in Illinois who bought the product, plus a multistate class of people from Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Mississippi and Utah.

Hunt sues under Illinois consumer laws and for breach of warranty, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. She seeks certification of the class action, an injunction, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

The news comes after a consumer hit General Mills with a class action lawsuit alleging its Gushers fruit-flavored snacks deceive customers into thinking they only contain natural fruit flavoring when they contain artificial flavoring ingredients.

Do you think the bars were falsely marketed? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates, P.C. 

The General Mills Class Action Lawsuit is Shannon Hunt v. General Mills Sales Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-02835, in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.

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