Black Rifle Lawsuit Claims ‘America’s Coffee’ Not Produced in the United States As Advertised

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Black Rifle Coffee Company’s labeling of its products as “America’s Coffee” is misleading, given that the company sources and processes its coffee beans abroad.

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The 25-page complaint contends that the military-themed coffee company’s “America’s Coffee” packaging statement amounts to an unqualified “Made in the USA” advertisement that leads consumers to believe the defendant’s coffee is sourced and produced stateside. The lawsuit charges, however, that none of Black Rifle Coffee Company’s coffee is grown or produced in the U.S., despite the prominent display of the American flag, bald eagles and other signifiers on product packaging.

“Nearly the entire process for making Defendants’ coffee—from growing and harvesting the coffee cherries to producing the dried, green coffee beans—occurs outside of the United States,” the case summarizes.

California law outlines strict guidelines for labeling and marketing products that are manufactured domestically, the suit relays. For a company to lawfully use USA-origin claims, the product cannot be “entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States,” the case emphasizes.

Importantly, coffee can only be grown in certain tropical climates in a region known as the ‘coffee belt’ around the equator, an area that includes several South American, South Asian, and sub-Saharan African countries, the complaint explains. According to the suit, the United States ranks 38^th among coffee producers worldwide, as coffee can only be grown in a few regions in California, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii.

However, the filing says that Black Rifle does not rely on domestically-grown coffee in its product, and instead sources the beans from countries such as Guatemala and Brazil. The case argues that the extent of the defendant’s sourcing abroad is not entirely reflective in its brand image, as the entire process of harvesting, processing and milling coffee beans occurs outside of the U.S. Essentially, the lawsuit claims, Black Rifle’s only involvement in the coffee-sourcing process is simply to “roast the beans and to bag them.”

Though disclosures on the defendant’s coffee sourcing can be found deep within Black Rifle’s website, the case contends that consumers are deceived by the company’s representations and packaging, which suggest the coffee is made entirely in the United States. Similarly, a disclosure is listed in relatively small font on the side of Black Rifle’s coffee bags that confirms that the company only roasts its coffee in the United States.

The case argues that, “by burying that statement on the side label while simultaneously highlighting the unqualified Made in USA advertising on the front of the label, knowing that this Made in USA advertising is false and/or deceptive, [Black Rifle] engaged in conduct likely to mislead reasonable consumers.”

The Black Rifle Coffee class action lawsuit looks to represent all individuals in New York and/or California who purchased any Black Rifle coffee bags during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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