Vivaloe Class Action Says Aloe Drinks are not ‘All Natural’

The maker of Vivaloe aloe vera infused juice beverages faces a potential $5 million class action lawsuit over allegations that the company deceptively markets its blends as “all natural.”

Plaintiff Michelle Chen filed the class action lawsuit against manufacturer Outernational Brands Inc. saying that she relied on label claims that Vivaloe contained “no preservatives” when deciding to pay a premium for the touted healthy drink.

The Vivaloe class action alleges that in reality the beverage-maker used citric acid which Chen says is a non-natural, highly chemical preservative to help the aloe infused beverage have a longer shelf life.

“Without the addition of preservatives, a drink containing fruit, or in this instance, aloe vera pieces, would turn stale and moldy in a matter of days,” the lawsuit claims.

Chen says she bought Vivaloe beverages in bulk from amazon.com for $24.95 for a box of 12. Relying on the “all natural” and “free of preservatives” label claims, Chen alleges that a reasonable customer wouldn’t have known the drinks are mislabeled.

“Defendant would have the consumers to believe that, basically, drinking the Product is extremely beneficial as it contains ’16 amino acids and 20 minerals with numerous health benefits’,” the class action states.

However, the plaintiff says that the FDA has loosely defined “natural” as a product that doesn’t contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances. Chen claims that by adding citric acid, Vivaloe consumers are tricked into buying an “all natural” beverage that contains “mutant strains of the black mold fungus, Aspergillus niger.”

“At the point of sale, Plaintiffs and Class members did not know, and had no reason to know, that the Products were misbranded as set forth herein, and would not have bought the Products had they known the truth about them,” the plaintiff alleges.

The Vivaloe class action says that customers like Chen won’t be able to look at the beverage in the future and believe the packaging claims unless the defendant agrees to correct the wording.

However, the plaintiff contests that should the manufacturer alter the price of the aloe juice blends she may concede to a future purchase as long as Outernational Brands engages in corrective advertising of its Vivaloe products.

If approved, the Vivaloe class action lawsuit would be open to all U.S. residents who have purchased one (or more) of the following Vivaloe beverages at a retail store within the applicable limitations period:

• Vivaloe™ Original Aloe
• Vivaloe™ Peach Aloe
• Vivaloe™ Coconut Aloe
• Vivaloe™ Honeydew Aloe
• Vivaloe™ Mango Aloe
• Vivaloe™ Pink Lemonade Aloe
• Vivaloe™ Watermelon Aloe

The plaintiff is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group, PLLC.

The Vivaloe Aloe Infused Juice False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Chen, et al. v. Outernational Brands Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-01634, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.