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Vegan brand Miyoko’s Kitchen Inc. is being sued by a woman who claims the product’s packaging is ‘misleading’.
Jasmine Brown of Suffolk County is seeking at least $5 million in damages for alleged negligent misrepresentation, breach of warranty, fraud and unjust enrichment through the potential class action suit.
The suit filed by Brown in Brooklyn federal court against Miyoko’s Kitchen Inc. claims Miyoko’s packaging is ‘misleading because…the products lack any milk or dairy ingredients’, leading Brown to pay the ‘premium’ price of $6.99 because she ‘relied on the misleading representations’.
Not confused
Speaking to the New York Post, company owner Miyoko Schinner said: “Several surveys indicate that consumers are not confused when they buy plant dairy, and buy these products specifically because they do not contain animal ingredients.
“In fact, whether or not we call our product ‘butter,’ most consumers will refer to it as such because that is how it looks, tastes and performs.
“While our award-winning butter may not have tasted like butter to Jasmine Brown, many people who taste it either comment, ‘wow! It’s butter’ or ‘wow! It’s better than butter’,” she said.
Polling
When it comes to the labeling of dairy products, a recent poll revealed that fewer than 10 percent of US consumers believe plant-based milks contain any dairy products.
According to the research by the International Food Information Council (IFFC), a further 75 percent know the vegan products do not contain cow’s milk, and the remaining respondents are not sure.
The IFCC says these results show ‘a low level of consumer confusion over nomenclature and basic differences between the two’.
