Dive Brief:
- PepsiCo will change the labels on its Naked Juice bottles following a lawsuit claiming that its labels misled consumers about what was truly inside, according to Fortune. Despite the settlement, PepsiCo and Naked Juice expressly deny the accusations and admit no wrongdoing.
- Plaintiffs in the case said flavors like “Kale Blazer” had imagery on its packaging that did not convey the main ingredient: orange juice, according to Consumerist.
- Naked Juice will now have pictures that better convey what is in the bottle, clearer text and ingredients, and a starred statement stating it isn’t a low-calorie food.
Dive Insight:
Naked Juice has attracted several lawsuits in the recent past. This lawsuit claimed that the brand was duping consumers. A previous class action lawsuit about the brand's positioning — claiming the juice was falsely advertised as "all-natural" and made without genetically modified ingredients — was settled in 2013 for $9 million.
This settlement concentrates on labeling changes. Consumers have been concerned about ensuring that food labels accurately describe what is in the package. The Food and Drug Administration has instituted a number of modifications to the Nutrition Facts portion of the label that will be required by all food manufacturers by July of 2018.
Food analysts are still skeptical that changing the labels will make much of a difference—especially in products that consumers already feel are healthy.
But beyond the required Nutrition Facts label, there may in the future be more scrutiny on which products can claim they are "healthy." FDA decided last year that it is time to revisit the meaning of the term, and started the public comment process on the definition in September. If the review is finished and regulatory change is enacted, it would significantly reduce the litigation over products that claim they are "healthy," since regulators would catch items that shouldn't be making that claim.