Class Action Says Monster Beverage Co.’s ‘Espresso Monster’ Designed to Mislead Consumers

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Monster Beverage Company faces a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the energy drink maker has deceptively failed to disclose that its vanilla-flavored “Espresso Monster” product contains non-vanilla ingredients.

According to the complaint, Monster purports that its espresso beverage is flavored by vanilla and includes representations of “vanilla cream” and images of a vanilla flower on the product’s front label. Despite the “unqualified, prominent and conspicuous” description of the product as “vanilla,” the drink, the lawsuit says, contains undisclosed non-vanilla flavors that “imitate and extend vanilla but are not derived from the vanilla bean.” Specifically, the lawsuit highlights the defendant’s inclusion of “natural flavors” on Espresso Monster’s ingredient list, which the plaintiff argues indicates that the product is flavored, at least in part, by sources other than vanilla.

The case claims that Monster’s labeling fails to adequately disclose the presence of non-vanilla flavors and is therefore deceptive to customers. In particular, the complaint argues consumers were misled into believing that the defendant’s espresso product is flavored exclusively by vanilla and that no other flavors “simulate, resemble, reinforce, enhance or extend the flavoring from vanilla such that less real vanilla is needed.”

“Defendant’s branding and packaging of the Products are designed to—and does—deceive, mislead, and defraud consumers,” the lawsuit alleges.

The suit argues that because the source of vanilla flavor is an important factor in whether a consumer chooses to purchase a product, Monster was able to charge the “premium price” of $3.89 for Espresso Monster drinks. Consumers would not have been willing to pay this much had they known the product’s true nature, according to the complaint.

The suit seeks to represent a class of all individuals in the United States who purchased Espresso Monster products labeled as “vanilla cream,” along with specific subclasses for consumers in New York and the other 49 states.