After The Coca-Cola Co.’s Minute Maid division started marketing a pomegranate-blueberry juice blend in September 2007, POM Wonderful began losing sales of its own pomegranate-blueberry beverage.
One year later, POM sued Coca-Cola in federal district court, alleging that Coke’s naming and labeling of a beverage consisting mostly of apple and grape juices as pomegranate-blueberry juice misled consumers in violation of the false advertising provisions of the federal Lanham Act and two California statutes. Coca-Cola’s product contains 99.4 percent apple and grape juices, 0.3 percent pomegranate juice, 0.2 percent blueberry juice and 0.1 percent raspberry juice.
