Trader Joe’s Class Action Says Alkaline Water is Falsely Advertised

A class action lawsuit claims that Trader Joe’s alkaline water does not provide the advertised health benefits.

Plaintiff Dana Weiss claims that she purchased a bottle of Trader Joe’s alkaline water in November 2016, because the labeling of the product advertised that it possessed qualities that would be beneficial to her health.

However, Weiss says she discovered later that the product was no more beneficial to her health than regular tap or bottled water.

The Trader Joe’s class action lawsuit claims that Weiss bought the product because she was trying to regulate her internal pH balance, and the product advertised that it would help do this.

Allegedly, she would not have purchased the product had she known that it did not give the advertised health benefits, or she would not have paid as much for it.

Weiss claims that the product was priced higher than other bottled water. The Trader Joe’s alkaline water class action lawsuit states that Trader Joe’s relied on consumers’ preference for products that are beneficial to their health to market the product. Allegedly, consumers are willing to pay a premium for healthy products.

The Trader Joe’s water labeling class action lawsuit goes on to claim that because Trader Joe’s advertised the alkaline water as a product with many health benefits, priced it at a premium, but knew that the product had no more health benefits than those in bottled or tap water, Trader Joe’s unjustly enriched itself from the sale of the alkaline water.

Weiss says scientific evidence does not support Trader Joe’s claims that the alkaline water is healthier or more beneficial to human health than regular tap or bottled water.

Trader Joe’s allegedly advertises its alkaline water as containing added electrolytes and “ionized to achieve the perfect balance.” Additionally, Trader Joe’s touts the alkalinity of the water, alkalinity being the capability of water to neutralize acid, claiming that the product has a pH (measurement of acidity) of 9.5+.

The Trader Joe’s water class action lawsuit states that the product package further claims drinking the product can help regulate a person’s internal pH level after eating acidic foods or sweating, and that the product is specifically designed to “refresh and hydrate.”

However, Trader Joe’s allegedly provides no scientific research to suggest that ionized water does change a person’s pH, provide more hydration than other water, or is somehow “perfectly balanced.” Additionally, Weiss claims that the alkaline water is not actually 9.5+, as advertised.

The Trader Joe’s alkaline water class action lawsuit alleges that Trader Joe’s advertisements are entirely false and are just puffery, and that Trader Joe’s intentionally misleads consumers by “[taking] advantage of every marketing avenue the modern age has opened to them in order to ensure that the false and deceptive marketing message permeates the general censure consciousness,” pointing to the company’s alleged use of incorrect science and to how widely the company advertises the product.

Weiss is represented by Blake J. Lindemann of Lindemann Law Firm APC.

The Trader Joe’s Alkaline Water False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Dana Weiss v. Trader Joe’s Company, Case No. 8:18-cv-01130, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division.