Naked Juice Will Change Its Labels to Accurately Reflect Ingredients

Naked Juice is getting a makeover, following a lawsuit alleging that the brand's labels are misleading consumers. The changes will be rolled out within the next eight months as part of a settlement agreement, Fortune reports.

Naked Juice’s parent company, PepsiCo, denied the claim by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer advocacy group. In October, the group filed a suit on behalf of customers in California and New York who had purchased popular flavors, including Kale Blazer and Green Machine; a settlement was reportedly reached on February 14.

According to the CSPI, Naked Juice's labels list the drinks’ main ingredients as fruits and vegetables, when their predominant ingredient is actually apple or orange juice. They also argued that the “No Sugar Added” tagline obscures the fact that the drinks are actually filled with sugar—thanks to the inclusion of apple and orange juices—and that they don't visibly reveal that they are “not a low-calorie food,” per the Food and Drug Administration’s rules.

The imagery on the labels is also dishonest, the CSPI said: “Labels for Naked Juice Kale Blazer feature leaves of kale and other leafy greens and two cucumber slices,” the group pointed out in a statement. “…The primary ingredient in Kale Blazer is orange juice. The third ingredient is apple juice. And nowhere on the Kale Blazer labels or other marketing materials are oranges or apples pictured.”

Naked Juice isn’t going to change the ingredients in its drinks, but the company has agreed to overhaul its labels to meet the CSPI’s standards. They’ll select more accurate pictures, list drinks’ ingredients according to prominence, and state whether drinks are a “Fruit Juice,” “Fruit & Veggie Juice,” or a smoothie. Additionally, they’ll have to make the “100% Juice” and "No Sugar Added" taglines smaller, and add that the beverages are "not a low-calorie food.”