Walmart sells Oats & Honey Crunchy Granola Bars under its Great Value brand. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the representations about the product are misleading, because, it claims, the bars contain only a de minimis amount of honey and are sweetened primarily with sugar.
Two classes have been defined for this action:
- The New York Class is all persons in New York who bought the product during the applicable statutes of limitations.
- The Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class is all persons in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Utah who bought the product during the applicable statutes of limitations.
Consumers these days are often avoiding sugar. The complaint alleges, “Doctors and nutritionists agree that excess sugar intake leads to weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, dental caries, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, cancer, and even dementia.” Also, the complaint claims, “Refined sugars lead to rapid spikes of blood sugar, with quick spurts of energy followed by sharp declines, characterized by tiredness, headaches, and difficulties in concentrating.”
Because of all this, the complaint alleges, consumers often look for products that are made with honey rather than sugar. Honey is seen as better for health, the complaint says, and it’s a natural sweetener, produced without extensive processing. Also, the complaint claims honey has a lower glycemic index than sugar does, meaning that it “caus[es] slower fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels.” For all these reasons, then, many consumers prefer honey as a sweetener and are willing to pay more for products that use it in place of sugar.
The first page of the complaint shows the front of the product box, bearing the words “Oats & Honey” and “Crunchy Oats Sweet Honey,” along with images of wheat grains, two of the granola bars, and a rectangular block of honeycomb oozing honey.
The complaint alleges, “The representations tell consumers the Product [contains] a non-de minimis amount of honey, is primarily sweetened with honey and contains limited ingredients based on the references to only oats and honey.” But it claims these representations are false and misleading.
Page 4 of the complaint shows an image of the ingredient panel for the product. The second ingredient, right after “Whole Grain Rolled Oats,” is “Sugar.” Only as the fifth ingredient, after the “Contains Less Than 2% Of” designation, does the label list “Honey.”
The complaint alleges, “Consumers relying on the front label will be … dissatisfied honey is a minor ingredient, especially compared to the amount of sugar.”
The complaint also alleges that the front label implies that the product is made with only a few ingredients—thus satisfying another consumer preference—when in reality the product does contain a good number of other ingredients.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Great Value “Oats & Honey” Crunchy Granola Bars Complaint
July 21, 2022
Walmart sells Oats & Honey Crunchy Granola Bars under its Great Value brand. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the representations about the product are misleading, because, it claims, the bars contain only a de minimis amount of honey and are sweetened primarily with sugar.
Great Value “Oats & Honey” Crunchy Granola Bars ComplaintCase Event History
Great Value “Oats & Honey” Crunchy Granola Bars Complaint
July 21, 2022
Walmart sells Oats & Honey Crunchy Granola Bars under its Great Value brand. But the complaint for this class action alleges that the representations about the product are misleading, because, it claims, the bars contain only a de minimis amount of honey and are sweetened primarily with sugar.
Great Value “Oats & Honey” Crunchy Granola Bars Complaint