Celsius is a seller of fitness drinks that increase metabolism, provide energy and help burn body fat. The brand offers different drinks made with stevia and ones with additional branched-chain amino acids or BCAAs. A $7.8 million class action lawsuit has been filed against Celsius Holdings Inc. alleging the defendants of misleadingly using their products by describing them as containing “no preservatives” despite containing citric acid.
Settlement website – CelsiusClassActionSettlement.com
Objection deadline – 03/31/2023
Exclusion deadline – 03/31/2023
Claim Form – https://claims.celsiusclassactionsettlement.com/
Deadline for submitting a claim – 02/13/2023
Final Hearing date – 03/31/2023
Settlement amount – $7.8 million
Potential claim amount – Variable
Proof of purchase – Proof of purchase includes a removed UPC, purchase record or receipt from a release party or other documentation from a third-party commercial source that reasonably establishes that the applicable product was purchased in the United States during the class period and also its date of purchase.
The settlement terms will benefit consumers who bought any Celsius beverage (aka Celsius Live Fit), Celsius Heat, Celsius BCAA+Energy, Celsius with Stevia, Celsius On-The-Go powdered drinks, and/or Flo Fusion powdered drinks between 1st January 2015 and 23rd November 2022. The plaintiffs in this false advertising class action lawsuit have claimed that they wouldn’t have bought Celsius drinks or paid as much if they knew that citric acid was used as a preservative and flavoring agent in the products.
According to the Celsius class action lawsuit, the defendants were well aware of the fact that consumers are willing to pay more for healthy and natural products. This is why they falsely advertised the products using terms like ‘no artificial flavors’ and ‘no preservatives.’ The class action sought reimbursement for consumers who purchased the mislabeled Celsius drinks. Though Celsius hasn’t agreed to any wrongdoing, they have agreed to resolve these allegations with a $7.8 million class action settlement and also change its labeling.
Under the settlement terms, class members are eligible to get a cash payment according to the number of products they bought. A payment of $1 has been allocated for each can or $5 per package containing 14 powdered drinks. Class members can receive reimbursements of up to $250 on providing adequate proof of purchase while the ones without proof of purchase can receive up to $20. Since the settlement amount is fixed, the payments made to each customer might be adjusted depending on the number of claims received. The claims might be reduced on a pro-rata basis if a large number of claims are received. For smaller numbers of claims, reimbursements will be adjusted upward to two times the claimed amount, up to $40 without proof of purchase and $500 with proof of purchase.