Muscletech Supplement Containers Sold ‘Nearly Half Empty,’ Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges the maker of Muscletech powder supplements has duped unsuspecting consumers by selling the products in oversized, opaque containers that are “nearly half empty.” 

The 36-page lawsuit alleges the amount of nonfunctional “slack-fill,” or empty space, with which Iovate Health Sciences U.S.A. fills containers of its Muscletech supplements is deceptive and unlawful. According to the case, Iovate underfills containers of Muscletech powder to save money and markets the products in “a systematically misleading manner” by representing the containers as adequately filled. 

“The front of the Products’ packaging does not include any information that would reasonably apprise Plaintiffs of the quantity of product relative to the size of the container, such as a fill line,” the case states. 

The lawsuit alleges an approximately 10-inch-high container of Iovate’s Muscletech 100% Whey Gold Double Rich Chocolate Protein Powder, for example, is filled up to a vertical height of only six inches. Similarly, an 8.25-inch-high container of Muscletech Nitro Tech Whey Protein is filled up to a vertical height of only approximately 4.25 inches, the suit claims. 

Other Muscltech supplements mentioned in the lawsuit include the VaporX5 Pre-Workout, Cell-Tech Creatine, Amino Build and Phase8 Protein Powder.

Included in the complaint are a number of images of Muscletech containers on which a red line is used to depict the extent to which the packages have allegedly been underfilled with nonfunctional empty space:

The lawsuit defines “slack-fill” as the difference between the actual capacity of a container and the volume of product contained therein. Nonfunctional slack-fill is the empty space in a package that is filled to less than its capacity for “illegitimate and unlawful reasons,” the suit says. Although there are a number of exceptions to slack-fill rules, such as the use of slack-fill to protect the contents of a container or accommodate packaging machines, none apply to the Muscletech supplement containers at issue, the lawsuit contends. 

According to the case, the size of each Muscletech container leads a reasonable consumer to believe they’re buying a container full of powder when, in reality, what they’ll receive is significantly less than what Iovate represents. Compounding matters is the fact that the containers do not allow for visual confirmation of the contents therein before opening, the suit adds. 

“Even if a reasonable consumer were to ‘shake’ the Products before opening the container, the reasonable consumer would not be able to discern the presence of any nonfunctional slack-fill, let alone the significant amount of nonfunctional slack-fill that is present in the Products,” the case states, arguing that disclosures of net weight and serving size are not enough to allow a consumer to make a meaningful conclusion about the quantity of powder they’re buying. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers who bought any flavor, size, or variety of the Muscletech supplements listed on this page in the United States for personal use and not for resale within the last four years. 

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