Class Action Claims Mott’s Mislabels Stewart’s Fountain Classics Soda Products

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Stewart’s Fountain Classics are the subject of a proposed class action that claims manufacturer Mott’s LLP misrepresents that the sodas are artificially flavored and may not contain their represented ingredients.

The lawsuit points specifically to Stewart’s “Key Lime,” “Black Cherry,” “Orange ‘n Cream,” and “Cream Soda” varieties, arguing that the “characterizing flavor” of each drink is not derived from the ingredient referenced on the sodas’ labels.

The lawsuit notes that each characterizing flavor is presented “in prominent type and font size” on the defendant’s bottle labels while any reference to whether a soda is artificially or naturally flavored is listed on the bottom of the label in much smaller font. For the Key Lime, Black Cherry, and Orange ‘n Cream products, the label represents that the products are “Naturally and Artificially Flavored,” while the Cream Soda label states that the product is “Artificially Flavored,” the suit says.

The placement of such statements on bottle labels is material because, as the lawsuit tells it, these flavor source statements “are unlikely to be read” by a reasonable consumer, who, the suit stresses, would assume that the flavoring of each soda variety is derived from its prominently displayed characterizing ingredient.

“Whether or not the flavoring of the Products is derived from the ingredient referenced or if it is from a source other than the ingredient, is material because if the former, it would be a more expensive, natural flavor, as opposed to artificial flavor,” the complaint states.

Moreover, the Cream Soda soft drink, whose label boasts claims of a “creamy vanilla taste” on its label, contains no ingredients related to vanilla, according to the lawsuit. The representations on the product “seek to capitalize on consumer affinity for vanilla” without disclosing that there is no vanilla present in the soda, the suit says.