HIGH POINT — Puroast Coffee Co. of High Point has filed a federal lawsuit against one of its competitors for false advertising.
The complaint alleges that some of the coffee that grocery chain Trader Joe’s sells in its stores under its brand is neither low-acid nor fully caffeinated, despite being advertised as such.
The lawsuit claims that these brands don’t have the chemical values to be labeled low-acid and that they contain less than half the caffeine of regular coffee, making them more akin to decaf or “half-caf.”
Puroast, which produces and sells its own brands of coffee that the company touts for their low acid levels, claims that it has unfairly lost market share to Trader Joe’s and is seeking a court order requiring the chain to remove the “low acid” labels from its products.
“We sued them directly for harming our business. If you walk in Trader Joe’s and see low-acid (coffee), you’re getting less than half the caffeine of regular,” said Kerry Sachs, CEO of Puroast, which has a roasting, packaging and distribution operation on W. Market Center Drive.
“The last thing we want is for the consumer to think low-acid coffee is low caffeine, because Puroast is fully caffeinated,” Sachs said.
The case was filed last month in U.S. District Court in south Florida, where Puroast is incorporated. As of Friday, Trader Joe’s had not filed a response to the lawsuit, and the company could not be reached for comment.
Puroast says in the lawsuit that there has been a growing trend toward low-acid coffees among consumers with dietary or digestive concerns such as acid reflux.
It says coffee must have a pH level above 5.5 to qualify as low-acid and that testing of its coffee has confirmed an average pH of 5.84.
It says it has a roasting method that uses non-treated green coffee beans with no additives that are roasted at specific temperatures and durations. It says this proprietary method produces true low-acid coffee that retains its full flavor and caffeine content.
It says that Trader Joe’s uses a steaming process to reduce acidity of its coffee, which greatly reduces its caffeine content, and that its coffee does not have a pH value above 5.5.
“Low-acid coffee products often come with premium price tags, and Trader Joe’s marketing and sale of decaf coffee as low-acid coffee without the extra cost of producing true low-acid coffee results in a much higher profit margin,” the lawsuit alleges. “The mislabeling allows Trader Joe’s to price the product as a specialty coffee while cutting corners on production.”
This is not the first time Sachs and Puroast have alleged that a larger competitor was engaging in unfair business practices.