VitaminWater sued by health advocacy group

In response to the lawsuit, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company released a statement saying: “This is a ridiculous and ludicrous lawsuit. Glacéau VitaminWater is a great-tasting, hydrating beverage with essential vitamins and water, with labels showing calorie content.

“Filing a lawsuit is an opportunistic PR stunt. This is not about protecting the public interest. This is about grandstanding at a time when CSPI is receiving very little attention. There is no surprise that one week before the inauguration of the US president, with the flurry of activity in Washington DC, that CSPI has chosen today to try to bring attention to themselves.”

However, according to David Shardt, a senior nutritionist with CSPI: “They’ve gone out and collected all the nonsensical, goofy deceptive claims that other manufacturers make and they’ve assembled it all in their own line.”

Coca-Cola bought Glacéau, makers of VitaminWater, in 2007 for $4.1bn. It competes against other vitamin-packed beverages, such as SoBe Lifewater from PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Enhanced Water.

According to Atlanta Journal Constitution, CPSI said it chose VitaminWater because the Coca-Cola product is the segment leader. Its chief goal is to stop these claims across the industry, the group said in the conference call.