Tropicana Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice Class Action

Tropicana falsely advertises that its Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice is made of two of nature’s most potent antioxidants: pomegranates and blueberries, when in fact its just “a mixture of cheap apple juice and grape juice concentrates,” says a recently filed class action lawsuit.

The Tropicana class action lawsuit accuses Tropicana Products, Inc. and Publix Super Markets, a national supermarket chain headquartered in Florida, of deceptive practices in misrepresenting and/or omitting the true nature of Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice – specifically that the juice’s primary ingredients are pomegranate and blueberry juice.

Pomegranate and blueberry juices have become widely known as having nutritional and health benefits, and consumer demand for the juices has increased rapidly as a result. It was this enormous new market, the lawsuit says, that Tropicana hoped to tap in to with the sale of its Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice product.

“Tropicana’s Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice Beverage purports to combine two of nature’s most potent antioxidants, pomegranates and blueberries, into a single juice product. However, the truth is that the main ingredients in Tropicana’s Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice Beverage are neither purely pomegranate nor blueberry juice, but instead it is a mixture of cheap apple juice and grape juice concentrates with pomegranate juice and blueberry juice concentrates,” the Trop50 class action lawsuit states.

“Even though the Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice Beverage contains very little pomegranate or blueberry juice, Tropicana made a tactical marketing and/or advertising decision to create a deceptive and misleading label with many elements not required by state or federal regulations.”

For example, the lawsuit says, despite the fact that the product consists primarily of cheaper apple and grape juices, Tropicana decided to brand the product with the name “Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice” and to prominently depict a sliced pomegranate and blueberries on the front label. It could have just as easily branded it as “Apple Juice” and depicted sliced apples on the packaging, since the majority of the product is composed of apple juice.

“The effect of the label is to communicate that the Product is composed primarily of pure pomegranate and blueberry juices. As a result, purchasers, like Plaintiff, of Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice Beverage are likely to be misled and deceived by the Product’s label and to reasonably expect that the juice product actually consists primarily of pomegranate and blueberry juices,” the class action lawsuit says.

The Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice class action is brought on behalf of Florida consumers who purchased Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice at retail stores in Florida, including but not limited to Publix Supermarkets. It is seeking class certification, damages, and other relief.

A copy of the Tropicana Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry Juice Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.