Sour Jacks Gummies Boxes Contain Over 60 Percent Empty Space, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action accuses candy manufacturer PIM Brands, Inc. of misleading consumers by marketing boxes of candy containing more than 60 percent empty space.

Per the 23-page lawsuit, the packaging of PIM Brands’ Sour Jacks gummy candy deceives consumers into thinking they are buying a full box of candy when, in truth, they will only receive a small fraction of what is represented by the box’s size.

“Defendant’s obvious intent was/is to deceive consumers, especially children, into buying the Product while saving the expenses of adequate contents,” the case alleges.

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The empty space deliberately left in food containers is called “slack-fill,” the filing explains, and the practice of using oversized packages with substantial amounts of this nonfunctional space is prohibited by both federal and state laws.

According to the case, the boxes of Sour Jacks gummy candy sold by PIM Brands are “uniformly under-fill[ed]” and contain an “astounding 60+%” empty space, which is neither necessary to protect the contents nor caused by the candy settling over time.

The suit contends that the manufacturer’s actions “systematically” mislead consumers and aim to “obviously creat[e] a deception that its candy boxes contain an amount of candy commensurate with the size of the box.”

The plaintiff, an Alabama resident, says he purchased two 4-by-6-inch boxes of Sour Jacks Watermelon gummy candy in October 2021. Upon opening the packages, the man was “more than amazed” at the amount of slack-fill found in the boxes, the complaint says.

The case explains that because of the boxes’ larger size, the man “fully expected that the gummies candy boxes contained more candy than some of the smaller boxes” that were placed nearby. The filing claims, however, that the Sour Jacks boxes had more slack-fill than the other packages.

The size of the product’s packaging is misleading and deceptive because it leads consumers like the plaintiff to believe they will receive a larger quantity of candy than what is truly in the package, “even if the quantity or weight is accurately displayed on the label,” the filing contends.

Though “NET WT 3.5 oz (99g)” is listed on the front label of the Sour Jacks gummies, this information is “meaningless to a reasonable consumer as to the amount of slack-fill” found inside, the lawsuit claims.

In addition, the case alleges that since children are the target audience for candy marketing, PIM Brands designed its product’s packaging with full knowledge that the group would “obviously select the bigger box of candy” over competitors’ products.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff and other consumers overpaid for the Sour Jacks gummies and would not have purchased the product had they known it contained “immense slack-fill.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Texas, and Wyoming who bought Sour Jacks gummies at any time since November 10, 2016.

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