AriZona Iced Tea Sued Over '100% Natural' Claims
Quick Look
AriZona Iced Tea faces a proposed class action lawsuit in California, alleging false advertising of its "100% Natural" and "All Natural" drinks due to synthetic ingredients like citric acid and high fructose corn syrup, seeking restitution and an end to unfair practices.
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Why It Matters
AriZona Iced Tea is facing a proposed class action lawsuit in California, alleging false advertising of its drinks as "100% Natural" or "All Natural" despite containing synthetic ingredients. Consumers are increasingly concerned about synthetic ingredients, and the lawsuit claims the company used the "natural" label to increase sales and command a price premium.
The company behind AriZona Iced Tea has been sued over claims its drinks are “100% Natural.”
The proposed class action lawsuit filed in California in May alleges that AriZona falsely advertised its lines of iced teas and fruit juice cocktails as “100% Natural” and “All Natural,” respectively, despite the products containing synthetic ingredients such as citric acid and high fructose corn syrup.
The lawsuit claims that consumers have become “increasingly concerned about the effects of synthetic and chemical ingredients” and that the company intentionally marketed its products as natural “to increase sales and command a price premium.”
While prices on certain AriZona drinks can vary, its Iced Tea has remained at 99 cents a can since it first hit the market in the early 1990s.
The lawsuit argues that plaintiffs David Ford and Ivette Archila would not have regularly purchased AriZona drinks in California for at least the past four years if they had known they contained synthetic ingredients.
“Plaintiffs paid more for the Products, and would only have been willing to pay less, or unwilling to purchase them at all absent the false and misleading labeling complained of herein,” read the lawsuit, which Top Class Actions first reported.
The Independent has reached out to AriZona and the plaintiffs' attorney for comment.
Ford and Archila seek to represent a class of people in California who bought AriZona products listed in the complaint for personal or household use at any time from four years before the lawsuit was filed through the date a class is notified.
The teas included in the complaint are Blueberry White Tea, Black & White Tea, Iced Tea with Lemon Flavor, Iced Tea with Peach Flavor, Real Brewed Sweet Tea, and Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey.
The fruit juices included are Fruit Punch, Mucho Mango, Watermelon, Kiwi Strawberry, and Pineapple Fruit Juice Cocktails.
The lawsuit also asks for an order requiring AriZona to pay restitution and end its alleged unfair business practices.
Last summer, a federal judge ruled in favor of AriZona in a similar false advertising lawsuit.
In December 2022, plaintiff Thomas Iglesias argued in a class action complaint that the company misled its customers into believing its drinks were “All Natural” or “100% Natural.”
US District Judge Jeffrey S. White ruled in August 2025 that Iglesias had formed the belief that AriZona drinks were misleading by 2021, but that he continued to purchase them in 2022.
Open Questions
- What will be AriZona's official response to the current lawsuit?
- How will the court rule on the current class action?
- Will AriZona change its labeling practices?
