Krispy Kreme Class Action Alleges Donut Ingredients are Misleading

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Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is facing a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a customer who claims the donut chain falsely advertises the ingredients of its fruit-filled and maple-glazed donuts.

Plaintiff Jason Saidian, a Los Angeles resident, brings this consumer protection and false advertising class action lawsuit against Krispy Kreme.

He alleges that the donut maker conducts “false and misleading business practices” because its “Chocolate Iced Raspberry Filled,” “Glazed Raspberry Filled,” “Maple Bar,” and “Glazed Blueberry Cake” donuts and donut holes do not actually contain real raspberries, maple, or blueberries.

Instead, the donuts are made with “nutritionally inferior ingredients,” the 32-page complaint states.

In 2015, Saidian says he purchased the raspberry, maple, and blueberry donuts at issue from a Krispy Kreme location in Santa Monica, Calif. He claims that when he purchased the donuts, he relied on the company’s representations about the “premium ingredients” in its donuts.

Specifically, the class action lawsuit indicates that the donuts are displayed in a tray behind a glass counter, along with a small placard in front of each tray that provides the name of the donut variety.

According to Saidian, the donuts appear as if they contain the “premium ingredients” but Krispy Kreme reportedly does not provide customers with access to information on what the actual ingredients are in the donuts.

“Even when consuming the Products, Plaintiff and other consumers cannot easily decipher whether the filling or glazing they are consuming contain actual raspberries, blueberries, or maple ingredients, because the Defendant has formulated and manufactured the Products in a manner that masks the absence of such ingredients,” the Krispy Kreme class action states.

Saidian claims he wouldn’t have bought certain donuts sold by Krispy Kreme if he had been aware of their actual ingredients.

“Unbeknownst to Plaintiff and other consumers, the Raspberry Products do not contain actual raspberries, the Maple Products do not contain actual maple syrup or maple sugar and the Blueberry Products do not contain actual blueberries,” the lawsuit reads.

Instead, Krispy Kreme purportedly uses sugar, corn syrup, gums and artificial food coloring to “mimic the texture, shape and color” of these “premium Ingredients” instead of naturally occurring products with proven health benefits, according to court documents.

To support his claim of false advertising, Saidian points to the fact that Krispy Kreme’s other donuts each contain the premium ingredient advertised in their respective product names.

For example, the “Glazed Lemon Filled” donuts contain lemon juice, the “Cinnamon Apple Filled” donuts contain both apple and cinnamon and the “Glazed Strawberry” donuts contain strawberries.

Therefore, according to Saidian, this indicates that Krispy Kreme is not only capable of making the donuts at issue with the real ingredients, but also should have been aware that its products are falsely advertised and would be deceiving to an unsuspecting customer.

Saidian is seeking to represent a certified nationwide Class and California subclass of Krispy Kreme customers and is asking upwards of $5 million in damages from the donut chain due the alleged absence of these “Premium Ingredients.”

Saidian is represented by Barbara A. Rohr and Benjamin Heikali of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP.

The Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Fake Ingredients Class Action Lawsuit is Jason Saidian v. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-08338, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.