A class-action lawsuit filed in California on Thursday accuses Trader Joe's of deceptively marketing its French Roast Low Acid whole bean coffee by implying it was fully caffeinated when, according to the suit, it was not. Four plaintiffs say they bought the product at Trader Joe's stores across the country and later learned testing showed it contained half the caffeine of a regular blend.
The trader joe's coffee lawsuit says consumers were led to believe they were buying a standard coffee product, not one with less caffeine. The plaintiffs say that matters because coffee drinkers often rely on caffeine for work and personal lives, and they argue that if shoppers wanted a half-caff product they would expect to pay less for it.
The suit also argues that Trader Joe's left out information that should have been disclosed. It says it is common practice to identify a coffee's caffeine content only when some process has been used to reduce the amount of caffeine, while fully caffeinated coffee does not carry special labeling and decaf or half-caff products are marked as such.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a court order to stop Trader Joe's from selling the product through what they call misleading marketing. Their case now puts the chain under pressure to defend how it labeled a coffee that, according to the complaint, did not match the expectations created on the shelf.
