A&W class action settlement reached after releasing “falsely advertised” vanilla root beer

A New York judge has preliminarily approved a settlement to proceed involving A&W Concentrate Company and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. — the makers of the A&W Root Beer and Cream Sodas. As reported by Joseph Lamour of TODAY, the lawsuit takes issue with beverages made by the company labeled with the term “made with aged vanilla” when the soda’s flavor actually comes from artificial flavoring. 

The class-action lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, states that the companies’ sodas’ labels “misleadingly” referenced aged vanilla although “the vanilla flavor comes predominantly — if not exclusively — from an artificial, synthetic ingredient called ethyl vanillin.” On June 5, U.S District Court Judge Brian M. Cogan “preliminarily approved” the settlement, as reported by Lamour. Due to this, the two companies “will [now] provide eligible consumers with money they spent on the allegedly falsely advertised beverages.” A final approval hearing has been scheduled for Monday, September 18, 2023.

The settlement is intended to apply to anyone in the U.S who purchased or consumed the aforementioned beverages between February 2016 and June 2023. There is no need for proof or purchase. The document reads ” “A Settlement Class Member who submits a Valid Claim shall receive a minimum cash payment of $5.50 up to a maximum of $25.00”. Consumers may file claims via RootBeerAndCreamSodaSettlement.com, though the website is not operating as of yet.