Krispy Kreme is facing a class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday by a former customer who says the doughnut chain is guilty of false advertising and fraud because some of its supposed fruit-filled and maple-glazed products are made with “nutritionally inferior ingredients.”
The 32-page, class-action complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California this week on behalf of Jason Saidian, an Los Angeles County resident who claims he wouldn’t have bought certain snacks sold by Krispy Kreme if he had been aware of their actual ingredients.
Krispy Kreme has conducted “false and misleading business practices” because products like its “Glazed Raspberry Filled,” “Glazed Blueberry Cake” and “Maple Iced Glazed” doughnut and doughnut-holes aren’t actually made with real fruit or maple, the lawsuit alleges.
“Unbeknownst to Plaintiff and other consumers, the Raspberry Products do not contain actual raspberries, the Maple Products do not contain actual maple syrup or maple sugar and the Blueberry Products do not contain actual blueberries,” the lawsuit reads.
Instead, Krispy Kreme uses sugar, corn syrup, gums and artificial food coloring to “mimic the texture, shape and color” of these “Premium Ingredients,” as they’re called in the complaint, in lieu of naturally occurring products with proven health benefits, according to the court filing.
Attorneys at the L.A. office of Faruqi & Faruqi are now seeking class-action status for their claim as well as upwards of $5 million in damages from the North Carolina-based doughnut chain because of the absence of these “Premium Ingredients.”
“Plaintiff and other consumers purchased the Products, reasonably relying on Defendant’s deceptive representation about the Products, and believing that each of the Products contained its respective Premium Ingredient. Had Plaintiff and other consumers known that the Products did not contain their Premium Ingredients, they would not have purchased the Products or would have paid significantly less for the Products. Therefore, Plaintiff and consumers have suffered injury in fact as a result of Defendant’s deceptive practices,” the complaint continues.
“As a result of their misleading business practice, and the harm caused to Plaintiff and other consumers, Defendant should be required to pay for all damages caused to consumers, including Plaintiff. Furthermore, Defendant should be enjoined from engaging in these deceptive practices.”
Krispy Kreme does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, a spokeswoman told The Washington Times on Thursday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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