PopCorners Lawsuit Claims Snack Bags Filled with ‘Unlawful’ Amount of Empty Space

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that bags of PopCorners are filled with unlawful amounts of non-functional empty space known as “slack-fill,” misleading consumers into thinking they will receive an amount of the snack product proportional to the size of the bag.

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The 25-page PopCorners lawsuit against manufacturer PepsiCo contends that the company “deceptively sells its products in oversized packaging that does not reasonably inform consumers that they are over half empty.” Per the case, PopCorners underfills bags of the popped corn snacks, including the seven-ounce Sea Salt PopCorners variety, to save money and “deceive consumers into purchasing the Product over its competitors’ products.”

As the complaint tells it, even if a consumer were to shake a bag of PopCorners to try to determine the quantity of product therein, they would not be able to detect any non-functional slack-fill, let alone the “significant amount” of empty space inside the opaque bag.

Though some slack-fill is necessary and legal to use in certain product packaging in order to protect the food within, the suit alleges that the slack-fill inside PopCorners bags well exceeds the acceptable amount.

The case states that the average consumer takes only about 13 seconds to make an in-store purchase decision. Additionally, when it comes to food purchases, research shows that the size of the container plays a significant role in that decision, with larger packages having a higher likelihood of being purchased, as they are perceived to contain more product, the filing relays.

The complaint claims PopCorners falsely advertises its product by intentionally using larger bags than necessary so as to encourage consumers to buy the snack.

The PopCorners class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone who bought a PopCorners snack bag in California for personal use and not for resale in the past four years.

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