A Mount Laurel, N.J. man has recently filed a lawsuit against Unilever, the maker of Breyers ice cream, citing the latter’s labeling and advertising that claimed the ice cream was made from “all natural” ingredients in a “false, misleading, inaccurate and deceptive” manner.
According to a July 25 NorthJersey.com article, Yosh Jefferson’s July 16 lawsuit alleges that the false labeling resulted in thousands of New Jersey consumers being misled into buying Breyers ice cream, and as a result paying too much money for the product they were receiving.
Furthermore, Jefferson’s lawsuit states, the “all natural” labeling and advertisements that Breyers has used since 2008 violates New Jersey state laws intended to protect consumers from such false advertising, NorthJersey.com reports.
The ingredient Breyers uses in its ice cream that makes any claims to “all natural” ingredients invalid is cocoa processed with alkali; alkali contains a man-made ingredient called potassium carbonate, according to Jefferson. This cocoa is an ingredient in 23 of Breyers’ flavors, according to NorthJersey.com.
In today’s advertising world — especially video advertising — creating content that uses storytelling to show a human side that customers can relate to is imperative. Also, by accurately advertising products and services, situations like the Breyers lawsuit can be avoided.
Since Jefferson’s lawsuit, Unilever has changed the labeling on tubs of Breyers ice cream, replacing “all natural” with “quality since 1866,” according to NorthJersey.com.
Jefferson is seeking compensatory and statutory damages in his lawsuit as well as payment for his attorney fees, NorthJersey.com reports. He claims that he paid 38% more money to buy Breyers ice cream than he would have spent buying similar, generic ice cream not labeled as being all natural.
