When you get an ice cream or sorbet at a Cold Stone Creamery, should it contain at least some of the item for which it’s named? This class action brings suit against Kahala Franchising, LLC, which franchises Cold Stone Creamery stores, alleging that some of the ice cream and sorbet products do not contain the ingredients the names lead customers to expect.
The class for this action is all residents of New York who bought the product in New York, for personal, family, or household consumption and not for resale, within the applicable statute of limitations. The flavors at issue include the following:
- Pistachio Ice Cream
- Mango Ice Cream
- Coconut Ice Cream
- Orange Sorbet
- Orange Ice Cream
- Mint Ice Cream
- Butter Pecan Ice Cream
The complaint alleges that each of the products listed does not in fact contain the foods that are represented in the names. Instead, the complaint alleges, the company “engages in false and misleading advertising for the Products to gain a competitive edge in the market, all at the expense of unsuspecting consumers.”
As shown in images in the complaint, the products are displayed in cases with tags indicating the name of ingredients, with nothing there or in the entire store to indicate to consumers when they are ordering that the ice creams and sorbets do not include these ingredients.
For example, the complaint alleges that the Pistachio Ice Cream does not contain any pistachios. However, an ingredient list is available on the Cold Stone Creamery website. The complaint quotes it as saying, “Sweet Cream Ice Cream [Cream, Nonfat Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Whey, contains less than 1% of: Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80, Annatto (color)], Pistachio Flavoring (Water, Ethanol, Propylene Glycol, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Yellow 5, Blue 1).”
The complaint claims, “propylene glycol is a synthetic product which is used in antifreeze and to ‘generate vapor and act as a carrier for nicotine and flavorings.’ Ethanol is a grain alcohol commonly used as a type of fuel.” These kinds of chemicals are not what consumers expect, the complaint alleges, when they buy pistachio ice cream at the prices the Creamery stores charge.
Most of the products sold by Cold Stone Creamery contain the ingredients in their names, the complaint claims: “For example, its strawberry ice cream contains strawberry, banana ice cream contains banana, and its chocolate hazelnut ice cream contains chocolate and hazelnut.” Nevertheless, the complaint alleges that the products listed are “missing the very ingredients they are named after.”
Cold Stone Creamery is considered a premium ice cream brand, the complaint alleges, so that consumers expect the ice cream to contain even premium ingredients. “Because the Products do not contain their promised ingredients,” the complaint alleges, “they are falsely and deceptively advertised in violation of” a number of laws.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Cold Stone Creamery Source of Some Flavors New York Complaint
December 23, 2022
When you get an ice cream or sorbet at a Cold Stone Creamery, should it contain at least some of the item for which it’s named? This class action brings suit against Kahala Franchising, LLC, which franchises Cold Stone Creamery stores, alleging that some of the ice cream and sorbet products do not contain the ingredients the names lead customers to expect.
Cold Stone Creamery Source of Some Flavors New York ComplaintCase Event History
Cold Stone Creamery Source of Some Flavors New York Complaint
December 23, 2022
When you get an ice cream or sorbet at a Cold Stone Creamery, should it contain at least some of the item for which it’s named? This class action brings suit against Kahala Franchising, LLC, which franchises Cold Stone Creamery stores, alleging that some of the ice cream and sorbet products do not contain the ingredients the names lead customers to expect.
Cold Stone Creamery Source of Some Flavors New York Complaint