Kroger Class Action Lawsuit Says Coffee Servings Are Exaggerated

A proposed class action lawsuit in California federal court accuses grocery chain Kroger of misleading consumers about the amount of servings in its ground coffee packages.

Plaintiff Amy Lorentzen says she purchased a 29-ounce package of Kroger Medium Roast Supreme Blend Ground Coffee at Ralph’s in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and relied on the label’s claim that the package would produce 225 servings of coffee.

However, Lorentzen says the Kroger coffee canister did not contain enough product to produce the advertised number of servings.

She maintains she would not have purchased the Kroger coffee or would have paid less for it had she known it could not produce 225 servings.

Each Kroger coffee product represents on its package that it contains enough coffee to make up to a certain number of servings, and a reasonable consumer would rely on that information to be accurate when making the decision to purchase, the complaint claims.

Lorentzen says Kroger injured her and the proposed Class Members because the company deprived them of the benefit of the bargain because the products had less value than what was represented.

Therefore, because of Kroger’s alleged deceptive marketing practices, the grocery chain has “improperly and illegally obtained money” from the plaintiff and proposed Class Members.

The plaintiff’s class action lawsuit works out the math when it comes to how much coffee consumers are actually getting out of their canisters of Kroger coffee.

According to the Kroger class action lawsuit, the 29-ounce canister of Medium Roast Supreme Blend canister purchased by Lorentzen claims it “makes about 225 cups.”

The instructions on the back of the package indicate consumers should use one rounded tablespoon of coffee for each six fluid ounces of cold water, the class action lawsuit says. However, by following those instructions, the canister only produces about 110 servings.

In the complaint, the plaintiff presents data from testing performed on several different varieties of Kroger coffee. In each instance, the results were similar: The amount of coffee in the canister only produced about half the amount of servings represented on the front label.

“Defendant’s labeling, advertising and marketing of the Products are false and misleading because a reasonable consumer, like Plaintiff, expect that if the Product’s back-panel brewing instructions are followed, the canister will yield the number of servings prominently displayed on the front panel,” as the testing confirms, the complaint says.

The Kroger Coffee class action lawsuit says Lorentzen did not know, and had no reason to know, that the label misrepresented the number of servings the package could yield.

“Indeed, Plaintiff was unable to measure or calculate how many servings the Products can make at the time of purchase,” the class action lawsuit says.

Lorentzen maintains Kroger should have known that she and other consumers would rely on the serving size recommendations represented on the package. Despite this, the defendant has continued its misleading marketing and advertising to entice people to buy products they would not have otherwise purchased, the complaint says.

The plaintiff says the potential exists for her to be harmed again in the future because she wants to purchase the products, but “without injunctive relief Plaintiff would not be able to know or trust that Defendant will truthfully label the Products and would be likely to be misled again.”

Folgers faces two similar class action lawsuits.

A Florida woman and a San Diego man have separately accused Folgers of also misrepresenting the number servings of coffee its containers produce.

The proposed Class in the Kroger coffee class action lawsuit includes anyone in California who purchased one or more Kroger ground coffee products since July 28, 2016, and “is so numerous that joinder of all members would be impracticable,” the complaint says. 

Kroger’s ground coffee products are sold at more than 2,700 locations throughout the U.S., and the class action lawsuit says the number of Class Members is estimated to at least be in the tens of thousands.

Lorentzen accuses Kroger of violating the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law. 

The plaintiff seeks an order putting a stop to Kroger’s continuation of the alleged misleading  policies, acts and practices, as well as declaratory relief; pre-judgment interest; restitution; attorneys’ fees; court costs; and any other relief the Court deems appropriate.

Lorentzen also demands a jury trial.

Have you purchased Kroger ground coffee? Were you able to make the advertised amount of servings? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Gillian L. Wade, Sara D. Avila and Marc A. Castaneda of Milstein Jackson Fairchild & Wade LLP.

The Kroger Ground Coffee Class Action Lawsuit is Amy Lorentzen, et al. v. The Kroger Co., et al., Case 2:20-cv-06754, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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