Shots Fired in Pomegranate Juice War

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Pom Wonderful claims Welch Foods, Tropicana and Ocean Spray misrepresent their juice products, which "contain little or no actual pomegranate juice." In separate federal complaints, Pom objects to Welch's "White Grape Pomegranate" juice, Tropicana's "Pure Pomegranate Blueberry" juice, and Ocean Spray's "Cranberry Pomegranate" juice.

Pom claims its multimillion-dollar ad campaign to persuade the public of the health benefits of pomegranates "has been both good and bad for consumers," who learned of pomegranate's wonderful properties.

"On the other hand, unscrupulous competitors have set out to cash in on plaintiff's success by marketing and selling to consumers products labeled as 'pomegranate juice,' that in fact contain little or no actual pomegranate juice," Pom says. The defendants are three such competitors, according to the complaints.

Pom claims Welch's "White Grape Pomegranate" juice contains "little or no pomegranate juice," but is mostly grape and apple.

Pom claims the principal ingredient in Tropicana's "Pure Pomegranate Blueberry" juice "is neither pomegranate nor blueberry juice, but rather pear juice."

And it claims that the principal ingredient in Ocean spray's "Cranberry Pomegranate" juice "is neither cranberry not pomegranate juice, but rather grape and apple juice."

"The New Yorker" magazine published a profile of Pom Wonderful's owner and marketing director Lynda Resnick, in "Pomegranate Princess," in its March 31, 2008 issue.

Pom is represented by Andrew Clare with Loeb & Loeb in all three cases.

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