Kraft Heinz faces class action over ‘naturally flavored’ Country Time lemonade

Country Time lemonade class action overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Judith Vergien and Maria Nelson filed a class action lawsuit against The Kraft Heinz Company.
• Why: Vergien and Nelson claim Kraft Heinz falsely advertises its Country Time lemonade products as containing no artificial flavors.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

A new class action lawsuit accuses The Kraft Heinz Company of falsely advertising its Country Time lemonade products as containing no artificial flavors.

Plaintiffs Judith Vergien and Maria Nelson claim Kraft Heinz prominently markets its lemonade products as containing “No Artificial Flavors” and being “Naturally Flavored” despite the products containing artificial ingredients that impart flavor, such as citric acid, sodium citrate, potassium citrate and maltodextrin.

Vergien and Nelson argue Kraft Heinz’s false and misleading statements caused consumers to pay a price premium for the lemonade products, which they claim they would not have purchased, or would have paid less for, had they known the truth about the products’ ingredients.

The plaintiffs want to represent a nationwide class and New York and California subclasses of consumers who purchased a lemonade product within the relevant limitations period.

Plaintiffs claim Kraft Heinz is guilty of violating New York’s General Business Law, California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law and the common-law prohibition on unjust enrichment.

Kraft Heinz allegedly failed to disclose lemonade products’ artificial ingredients

Vergien and Nelson argue it would be commercially infeasible for Kraft Heinz to source citric acid through any method other than microbial fermentation, which they claim is the dominant method of citric acid production.

The plaintiffs argue the scale of Kraft Heinz’s operations, nationwide distribution and reliance on standardized formulations, makes it plausible that the citric acid used in the lemonade products is sourced through conventional industrial fermentation.

Vergien and Nelson claim Kraft Heinz’s alleged misrepresentations are material to consumers, who they argue increasingly seek out products marketed as natural.

“Consumers who sought to avoid artificial flavors reasonably relied on [the defendant’s] representations and did not receive the natural, wholesome product they believed they were purchasing,” the Country Time lemonade class action lawsuit says.

Last year, Kraft Heinz was sued by a consumer over allegations that it misrepresented its Capri-Sun 100% Juice Fruit Punch drink as containing only juice when it allegedly also contains synthetic, non-natural citric acid.

Have you purchased Country Time lemonade products? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Raphael Janove of Janove PLLC.

The Country Time lemonade class action lawsuit is Vergien, et al. v. The Kraft Heinz Company, Case No. 1:25-cv-15557, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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