Starbucks Sued Over ‘Sugar-Free’ Drinks With Up to 21g of Sugar

If you didn’t expect a candy bar’s worth of sugar in your latte, you may be entitled to compensation.

A new federal lawsuit accuses Starbucks of misleading customers by labeling certain protein lattes and matcha drinks “sugar-free.” According to the suit, the drinks contain 13 to 21 grams of sugar per serving, sometimes as much as a Kit Kat bar, NBC News reports. Class action firm Hagens Berman filed the case on behalf of three consumers in California, New York and Washington.

In a statement Tuesday, Starbucks denied misleading customers. It says it has clearly shared nutritional information and plans to “vigorously defend” itself. The company says the sugar comes from its protein-boosted milk, that it doesn’t add sugar to the drinks and that it uses sugar-free syrup for flavoring. Its website lists each drink’s sugar content and says they’re made without added sugar.

Hagens Berman disagrees. “This case is about false and misleading product names. It is not about missing nutritional information,” the lawsuit reads. The suit seeks damages on behalf of U.S. consumers who bought the sugar-free drinks and asks the court to bar Starbucks from using the label on products that contain sugar.

If you didn’t expect a candy bar’s worth of sugar in your latte, you may be entitled to compensation.

A new federal lawsuit accuses Starbucks of misleading customers by labeling certain protein lattes and matcha drinks “sugar-free.” According to the suit, the drinks contain 13 to 21 grams of sugar per serving, sometimes as much as a Kit Kat bar, NBC News reports. Class action firm Hagens Berman filed the case on behalf of three consumers in California, New York and Washington.

In a statement Tuesday, Starbucks denied misleading customers. It says it has clearly shared nutritional information and plans to “vigorously defend” itself. The company says the sugar comes from its protein-boosted milk, that it doesn’t add sugar to the drinks and that it uses sugar-free syrup for flavoring. Its website lists each drink’s sugar content and says they’re made without added sugar.

Hagens Berman disagrees. “This case is about false and misleading product names. It is not about missing nutritional information,” the lawsuit reads. The suit seeks damages on behalf of U.S. consumers who bought the sugar-free drinks and asks the court to bar Starbucks from using the label on products that contain sugar.