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Cold Stone Creamery Sued Over Pistachio Ice Cream Without Actual Nuts

By Nithya Bose in Bizarre Lawsuits, posted May 9, 2024

A Long Island woman has sued Cold Stone Creamery, alleging its "pistachio" ice cream contains no actual pistachios but flavoring.

This class-action lawsuit is now set to proceed in court following a decision by Gary Brown, a federal judge in New York's eastern district.

The complaint originated when the woman purchased the ice cream in July 2022.

She subsequently discovered it was made from "pistachio flavoring" ingredients like water, ethanol, and food coloring rather than genuine pistachios.

She and other plaintiffs are now challenging Kahala Brands, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, on the grounds of deceptive advertising.

The judge ruled the case involves a “deceptively complex question about the reasonable expectations” of consumers who purchase such an ice-cream flavor.

Brown wrote: “Should consumers ordering pistachio ice-cream at one of defendant’s establishments expect that the product will contain actual pistachios?

“And if the answer is no, should that leave them with a bitter aftertaste?”

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The lawsuit also mentioned other flavors, like mango, coconut, and butter pecan, as potentially deceptive.

However, the court has only allowed the pistachio claim to proceed, citing sufficient evidence specific to this flavor.

The judge critiqued Cold Stone's defense, which relied on the presence of ingredient listings on its website, suggesting that expecting consumers to verify product contents online while physically in the store is unreasonable.

This stance references previous "vanilla cases," where items labeled as vanilla were not made with vanilla beans.

Still, these were dismissed because "vanilla" can describe both a flavor and an ingredient.

However, "pistachio" is distinctly defined as a nut, complicating Cold Stone’s defense.

The case's progression to trial remains pending, and Kahala Brands has not responded publicly to the allegations.

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