Halo Top Ice Cream Makers Sued For ‘Dramatically Under-filling’ Its Low-Calorie Pints

Halo Top Creamery has been slapped with a federal class action lawsuit for fraud and deceptive marketing for allegedly under-filling its popular low-calorie ice cream pints.

In a 13-page lawsuit, California residents Gillian Neely and Youssif Kamal accused Eden Creamery LLC (doing business as Halo Top Creamery) of “routinely” and “dramatically” under-filling its ice cream pints and ripping off unwitting customers by charging full price for half-filled containers.

Halo Top ice cream typically costs between $3.99 and $6.99 a pint.

‘Halo Top Has Been Doing This For Years’

“Purchasers of the premium-priced ice cream simply have no idea how much ice cream they will get each and every time they buy a Halo Top ‘pint.’ And Halo Top has been doing this for years,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit claims that Halo Top has become a top-selling ice cream by marketing itself as a “guilt-free,” low-calorie alternative to other popular ice cream brands. In reality, the ice cream may be low-calorie simply because there’s less of it in the container.

“Halo Top knows it is short-changing its customers, but refuses to do anything about it,” the plaintiffs alleged.

The lawsuit also claims that Halo Top’s under-filling is random, so customers never know if they will get a full pint until after they have made their purchase.

The lawsuit alleges that Halo Top was aware of consumer complaints about under-filling but failed to do anything about it.

The plaintiffs are suing for fraud, deceptive marketing practices, and breach of implied contract. They are seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages for the entire class of individuals who join the lawsuit, which is seeking class-action certification.

In response, Halo Top Creamery denied the accusations, and blamed “product settling” for the allegedly under-filled ice cream containers.

“We have never and would never “under-fill” our pints,” a rep told Fox News. “Product settling can occur from time to time due to everything from heat fluctuations to altitude changes during shipping and handling.”

According to the lawsuit, Halo Top Creamery’s 2017 revenues topped $100 million. The ice cream brand, which launched in 2012, is available in more than 19,000 stores across the United States.

In 2017, Halo Top reportedly sold 50 million pints, making it the best-selling pint of ice cream in the United States, topping longtime market leaders Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream is also sold in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, with plans for more international expansion.