Coca-Cola Wins Court Battle Against POM Wonderful

22 Mar 2016 --- Coca-Cola does not have to pay out $77.5 million to rival juice maker POM Wonderful for misleading advertising of its Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry Blend of Five Juices drink, a court has ruled. 

Coca-Cola has been involved in an eight year battle with private company POM Wonderful, which was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industry agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick.

The dispute centres on POM Wonderful’s claim that labeling of the Minute Maid product was misleading as it contains just 0.3 percent pomegranate juice and 0.2 percent blueberry juice and 99.4 percent apple and grape juice.

POM Wonderful sued Coca-Cola- which stopped making the Minute Maid product in 2014- in 2008 under the Lanham Act, which prohibits misleading and false statement about a product.

It argued that it had lost millions in earnings as the Coca-Cola product went up against its own flagship Pomegranate juice.

One expert claimed that POM Wonderful lost nearly $80 million in sales because of Coca-Cola’s misleading advertising of its product.

Coca-Cola defended itself by pointing out that its labeling did not transgress FDA (Food and Drug Administration) rules. 

It argued its case under the FFDA’s Drug and Cosmetic Act, which states that a company can name a product after a particular juice as long as its characteristic flavor.

A court in California ruled in favour of Coca-Cola in 2014 but later the Supreme Court said that POM Wonderful had a viable case.

However, the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Coca-Cola following a six day trial in the US.

It will come as a relief to Coca-Cola which had been concerned had it lost the case that it would be difficult for it to have change its labels in response to every lawsuit.