Starbucks Underfills Cold Brew Concentrate Bottles, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges Starbucks systematically underfills bottles of its Cold Brew Concentrate by more than 30 percent, depriving consumers of the number of servings they’ve been led to expect. 

The 21-page case says that although the front label of Starbucks’ Cold Brew Concentrate indicates that one 32-ounce bottle can make up to eight servings when prepared as directed, a consumer who follows the stated instructions would find that they could make only five servings, as indicated in the product’s nutrition facts panel.

“In a practice that offends reasonable consumer expectations, Defendant employs a classic bait-and-switch scheme that causes unsuspecting consumers to spend more money for less than the advertised amount of coffee they believe they are purchasing,” the case alleges. 

To get the promised eight servings, Starbucks uses “inconsistent serving sizes,” the suit contends. Per the complaint, the measurements Starbucks uses to determine one serving are four fluid ounces of the cold brew concentrate and four fluid ounces of water, for a total of eight fluid ounces per serving. The lawsuit stresses, however, that eight fluid ounces is only two-thirds of a single serving of coffee as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

To make the advertised eight servings, the Starbucks Cold Brew product would need to contain roughly 48 fluid ounces of concentrate, which would produce 96 ounces of coffee, or eight servings of 12 fluid ounces each, when mixed in a “1:1 ratio” with water as directed, the lawsuit states. 

“But the Coffee Products purchased by Plaintiff contains [sic] only 36 fluid ounces of concentrate,” the complaint reads. “Thus, the Coffee Products are underfilled by 33 percent.” 

The lawsuit relays that the cold brew concentrate’s nutrition facts panel, consistent with the FDA’s Code of Regulations for the serving sizes of certain foods, states that three quarters of a cup of concentrate makes one and a half cups of coffee. In other words, the suit says, one serving of the Starbucks cold brew product consists of three quarters of a cup of concentrate mixed with three quarters of a cup of water, for a total serving size of one and a half cups, or 12 fluid ounces. 

“As a result of this deception, Defendant has sold thousands, if not millions, of Coffee Products to unsuspecting consumers across the country, including in New York,” the case alleges, claiming Starbucks has intentionally misled buyers who relied upon its material and prominent servings representation. 

The lawsuit looks to represent consumers nationwide who bought any Starbucks coffee product that falsely advertised the number of servings of coffee that the item would purportedly produce within the relevant statute of limitations period and have not received a refund or credit for their purchase. 

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