Dive Brief:
- Oregon's attorney general filed a lawsuit against the makers and marketers of 5-Hour Energy, claiming that they falsely advertised the product.
- At issue is the company's claim that the drink provides consumers an energy rush from its "unique combination of ingredients," while it mostly comes from a dose of concentrated caffeine.
- Oregon joins Washington and Vermont in filing suits against the company. All three states were part of a broader 33 state investigation in 2012 into the manufacturer of 5-Hour Energy.
Dive Insight:
If found at fault, 5-Hour Energy will join a number of companies that have encountered false-advertising lawsuits in recent years. While none of these highly-publicized cases impacted the brands to a detrimental fault, 5-Hour Energy might incur pressure to alter its branding, and perhaps its attitude toward the case, if public reaction turns unfavorable. A spokeswomen for the company said the attorney general is "grasping at straws" with the lawsuit, calling it a form of "civil intimidation."
