Walmart class action alleges Great Value creamer doesn’t actually contain cream

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Walmart Great Value creamer class action overview: 

• Who: A coffee drinker sued Walmart over its Great Value brand Chocolate Caramel Coffee Creamer.
• Why: The plaintiff says the product is a whitener, not a creamer.
• Where: The case was filed in Illinois federal court.

Walmart markets one of its Great Value products as a “coffee creamer” when it does not contain enough milk product to be a creamer and is instead a “whitener,” a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Amer Knautz filed the class action lawsuit against Walmart Inc. on July 1 in an Illinois federal court, alleging violations of federal and state consumer laws. 

Knautz says Walmart Inc.’s Great Value brand Chocolate Caramel Coffee Creamer is actually a coffee whitener.

According to the lawsuit, the product is marketed as a “coffee creamer,” shown through its packaging and title, and as pasteurized.

“Consumers are misled to expect the presence of cream from dairy ingredients,” Knautz says.

“By representing the Product with the statements, ‘Coffee Creamer’ and ‘Ultra Pasteurized,’ consumers are misled because it lacks cream and dairy ingredients beyond a de minimis amount of sodium caseinate, a milk derivative, shown through the ingredient list,” the Walmart class action says. 

In place of cream, the Great Value creamer substitutes water and sunflower oil to reduce costs, the lawsuit states. 

Walmart class action claims Great Value creamer actually coffee whitener

Knautz uses multiple dictionary definitions to delineate the difference between coffee whiteners and coffee creamers. 

She adds that non-dairy coffee whiteners were introduced in the 1960s and distinguished themselves from types of cream made from dairy ingredients. 

“First, they were sold under the generic name, ‘coffee whiteners,’” the Walmart class action says. “Second, they were stocked in the frozen food sections of grocery stores. In contrast, coffee cream and other dairy products were sold in the refrigerated foods section in the dairy case.”

According to the class action, the aggregate amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.

Knautz looks to represent an Illinois class of consumer who bought the product, plus a consumer fraud multistate class made up of consumers who bought the product in North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Nebraska, South Carolina, Kansas and Wyoming.

She’s suing under Illinois consumer laws and for breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and unjust enrichment. 

Knautz is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, another new class action lawsuit alleges French vanilla coffee creamer manufactured and sold by International Delight is actually a coffee whitener. 

What do you think of the allegations over Great Value creamer? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates P.C. 

The Walmart Great Value creamer class action is Amber Knautz v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-50236, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division.

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