Just as there is no Waldorf in a Waldorf salad, Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) customers have expressed outrage that there is no mango in the coffee chain’s mango-themed Refresher beverage.
In a class-action lawsuit filed in the US courts, consumers complained that Starbucks' Mango Dragonfruit, Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade, Pineapple Passionfruit, Pineapple Passionfruit Lemonade and other Refresher drinks lack the very fruits mentioned in their names.
Now, Starbucks must face class action after US District Judge John Cronan rejected the Portland chain’s request for dismissal.
Starbucks claimed that reasonable customers wouldn’t have expected a product called Mango Dragonfruit to have any actual mango in it, something the judge disagreed with.
The case was first filed by Joan Kominis and Jason McAllister in August 2022, claiming that consumers purchased the products and paid a premium price based upon their reliance on Starbucks’ naming of the products.
What is in it then?
One 16-ounce Frozen Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Starbucks Refreshers Beverage contains 150 calories, 36 grams of total carbohydrates, 33 grams of sugar and no fat.
This makes the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher a far healthier option than other Starbucks stables.
The infamous Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, for instance, contains 420 calories, 280 milligrams of sodium, 66 grams of total carbohydrates, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 grams of sugar and 15 grams of fat.
Ice is the main ingredient in the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher, followed by lemonade and ‘mango dragonfruit refreshers base’, which itself is a blend of water, sugar, white grape juice concentrate, natural flavours, citric acid, natural green coffee flavour and something called rebaudioside-a.
Rebaudioside-a is a sweetener made from the stevia rebaudiana plant. Green coffee flavour is derived from unroasted coffee beans.