In a class-action lawsuit filed last year, Pinkberry — which operates roughly 50 stores in California and New York — was accused of misrepresenting its product as “frozen yogurt” and making bogus health claims, including that the dessert (which comes in three flavors: plain, which is very sour; green tea, which is chalky; and coffee, uncommonly delicious) was “all-natural.”
In a preliminary settlement reached this week, Pinkberry denied any wrongdoing but agreed to pay $750,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Para Los Niños. The plaintiff, Lisa Sutton, who said she suffered injuries and undue loss of money spent on Pinkberry products, will receive legal fees and a $5,000 award for bringing the suit.
Under California law, a product cannot be marketed as frozen yogurt unless it is made from milk that is fermented with certain bacteria, mixed off-site rather than in stores, and sold with its ingredients prominently displayed. In the past, Pinkberry had been secret about its products’ ingredients, but it now lists them on its Web site, and it has begun to mix the product off-site.
It's also worth noting that Pinkberry is also considerably more calories than originally claimed. Of course, this isn't anything Tasti hasn't dealt with in the past. Tasti made the switch from "frozen yogurt" to "frozen dessert" a long time ago, and on last week's press release, the PR team finally found a great spin. They wrote, "Not a frozen yogurt because it doesn't contain yogurt and not enough fat to be ice cream, Tasti D-Lite is a uniquely perfect indulgence with just 70 to 100 calories per four fl. oz. serving." This spin still prevents Tasti from seemly unnatural, while clumping its lack of yogurt with a lack of fat.
In any case, it's interesting to see Pinkberry go through the same mistakes Tasti ironed out years ago. Maybe it's not the competitor we thought it might be. For more info on the ingredients in Tasti, check out Tasti Science.
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