Consumers Unaware ‘All Natural’ Snapple Products Contain Added Coloring, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges consumers are unaware that a number of Snapple products contain added coloring, rendering the drinks’ “all natural” labeling false and misleading.

Filed in California against Snapple Beverage Corp. and Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., the 31-page lawsuit alleges at least nine of the defendants’ “all natural” beverages, depicted below, contain color additives “not expected to be found in natural fruit drinks” and are therefore labeled in violation of federal and state advertising laws.

[From left to right: Snapple Orangeade; Snapple Raspberry Peach; Snapple Mango Madness; Snapple Watermelon Lemonade; Snapple Apple; Snapple Kiwi Strawberry; Snapple Pink Lemonade; Snapple Strawberry Pineapple Lemonade; and Snapple Lemonade]

The three plaintiffs, consumers from California and Kentucky, say they relied upon Snapple’s labeling in purchasing the products and would not have done so had they known the drinks were not completely natural. 

According to the complaint, the specific food coloring agents added to the Snapple products at issue are “vegetable and fruit juice concentrates,” “vegetable juice concentrates,” “fruit juice concentrates” and/or “beta carotene.” The case stresses that the Food and Drug Administration “does not regard foods with added coloring as natural, no matter the source of the coloring agent.”  

“The ‘All Natural’ label is prominently and conspicuously printed on the front of the Products. But the added coloring agents in the Products render the ‘All Natural’ label claims false. The added coloring agents, regardless of their source, are not ingredients consumers would normally expect to be included [in] products that are labeled as ‘All Natural.’” 

Per the suit, a reasonable consumer may be more willing to pay a premium price for products labeled as “all natural,” meaning manufacturers have a financial incentive to claim certain items are free from unnatural or synthetic additives.

The lawsuit, filed on June 30, looks to represent consumers nationwide who bought any of the “all natural” Snapple beverages listed above for personal consumption and not for resale within the last four years. The case also proposes two state-specific subclasses for those who purchased the drinks in Kentucky and California, respectively.

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