Cove Probiotic Sodas Falsely Advertised as Containing ‘No Artificial Sweeteners,’ Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Cove Drinks misleadingly markets its probiotic sodas as being free from artificial sweeteners even though the sodas contain commercially manufactured erythritol.

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The 24-page lawsuit asserts that the packaging for Cove probiotic sodas includes a prominent statement that the drinks contain “No Artificial Sweeteners.” This representation, along with marketing claims that Cove sodas are “naturally sweetened” to produce a “pleasant taste without artificial additives,” is understood by reasonable consumers to mean that the products are healthier and less processed than foods that contain artificial ingredients, the suit alleges.

However, the filing says that despite repeated representations on the product’s packaging and Cove’s marketing campaigns, including social media and other online advertisements, each flavor of the probiotic soda contains anywhere from 8 to 12 grams of industrially manufactured erythritol, a sugar alcohol that is naturally found in low levels in fruits such as cantaloupes, pears and grapes.

While erythritol can be derived from fruit, the case says it is not “economically feasible” for food manufacturers to use natural erythritol in commercial food products because of the “extraordinarily” high cost of extracting the sweetener from fruits. The lawsuit notes that 50 pounds of fruit would only generate one gram of naturally occurring erythritol.

Instead, the erythritol in Cove probiotic sodas is manufactured without any fruit substrate by fermenting strains of the microorganism Moniliella pollinis in a multi-step process, the case relays.

The complaint explains that because erythritol used in Cove’s beverages is manufactured through industrial fermentation and its only purpose is to sweeten the sodas, it is considered an artificial sweetener. As a result, Cove’s claims that the drinks contain “No Artificial Sweeteners” are misleading and deceptive, per the case.

The false advertising lawsuit conveys that consumers tend to believe that products free from artificial sweeteners are healthier and less processed, noting that academic literature on consumer behavior confirms that buyers tend to “conflate” natural products with healthy products. Indeed, the suit states that one study of over 4,000 European consumers found that over 75 percent of the respondents believed there was a “close connection” between how natural a food is and its healthfulness.

The plaintiff purchased multi-packs of Cove Drinks’ probiotic soda after being encouraged by friends and family to seek out healthier alternatives to regular soda, the lawsuit says, with the reasonable and commonly held belief that a product with no artificial sweeteners is more healthful. The suit alleges that Cove’s misleading representations leave the plaintiff with a product that is worth substantially less than what she paid.

The Cove Drinks class action lawsuit looks to cover all consumers in the state of California who purchased Cove sodas marketed with the representation “No Artificial Sweeteners” that contained erythritol within four years prior to the complaint’s filing.

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