I like Pinkberry‘s marketing.
The chain of frozen confection stores based in New York and California speak in an engaging, human voice. Their branding is clean and simple, and they know that less is more.
But Pinkberry’s founder claimed less when there was more — more additives and more calories, to be precise.
And that, along with other false claims, has cost Pinkberry $750,000 in a class-action lawsuit settlement.
The claims against Pinkberry
- Pinkberry is not “frozen yogurt.” California law requires a frozen yogurt product have its ingredients listed, to be mixed off-site, and be fermented a specific way. The company is now complying with these rules and claimed it was unaware of the laws.
- Pinkberry is not “all-natural.” The product includes additives.
- Pinkberry is not low-calorie. A half cup of the green tea flavored soft-serve dessert is 50 calories, while the smallest size is considerably larger than than that.
In the settlement, Pinkberry denied any wrongdoing. Except for a $5,000 award to plaintiff Lisa Sutton for bringing the suit, the money will go to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Para Los Niños, a nonprofit that helps at-risk children and their families.
So, did Pinkberry get its just desserts, or is this just another frivolous lawsuit?
I’d love to hear what you think. Please comment below to weigh in.
It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine discovered a frozen yogurt shop with “low calorie” yogurt. The yogurt itself was low in calories, in comparison to ice cream, but she kept dumping all kinds of fixings on it, kept telling herself it was a low calorie snack, pigged out on it, and put on all kinds of weight. What constitutes “low calorie”? If it is lower in calories then ice cream, I would consider it low calorie in comparison, everything is relative, if you compare it to celery, then it isn’t. Just because it isn’t yogurt according to a stringent definition in the state of California doesn’t mean it isn’t yogurt, it means they didn’t cross the t’s and dot the i’s the right way for California, it’s yogurt according to their website, and most likely in any other state than California. Calling it all natural was wrong though, looking at their ingredients list on their website, the product clearly is not all natural, but that is the only charge I can see in this that holds any water…..
Pinkberry does not have that many flavors. Its not that great. Its just cold yogurt.
Pinkberry has more toppings than flavors. their toppings aren’t that good ether