Quaker ‘Simply’ Granola Label Misleads Buyers, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges the Quaker Oats Company has misrepresented its Simply Granola products since they also contain a litany of other ingredients, including wheat, sugar, inulin and vegetable oils, and less honey and almonds than buyers are led to expect.

The 34-page lawsuit argues that consumers have relied to their detriment on Quaker’s labeling of the products, which the suit claims leads buyers to reasonably believe that the items contain no ingredients other than those specified on the front of the package. 

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More specifically, although product labels prominently display the words “Simply Granola,” followed by either “Oats, Honey, Raisins & Almonds” or “Oats, Honey & Almonds” and pictures of “only those [r]epresented [i]ngredients,” the Quaker items in truth contain “a variety of other less desireful ingredients,” the suit relays. 

“Of note, the Products contain significantly more sugar than honey,” the case adds. “Moreover, the Products contain more wheat than almonds and honey as well.” 

According to the filing, consumers bought Quaker’s Simply Granola for a premium price based on the belief that the products were “simply” granola containing only clean, simple ingredients. Had consumers been aware of “the truth about the Products,” they would not have bought them, or would have paid significantly less for the items, the lawsuit contends. 

“The false perception that the Products contain solely the Represented Ingredients is material to consumers’ purchasing decisions because clean, simple ingredients [are] universally seen as a premium,” the case expands. “Consumers are increasingly looking for clean ingredients in their foods and deem it a premium to find products that are comprised of only a minimum of ingredients.” 

The case argues Quaker’s “misleading labeling” of its Simply Granola products is a violation of Food and Drug Administration regulations, which state that the labeling of a food containing two or more ingredients may be misleading if the product’s label name includes or suggests the name of one or more but not all such ingredients, even when the ingredients are stated elsewhere on the label. 

The lawsuit looks to cover consumers in Illinois, New York, California, Iowa and Arkansas who bought Quaker’s Simply Granola during the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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