The battle between high-protein yogurts has entered the courtroom.
Danone SA’s US subsidiary sued Chobani in US court on Monday, alleging that Chobani is improperly marketing how much protein is in a serving of its yogurt.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, claims that Chobani is manipulating the serving size listed on its 32-ounce container of yogurt to make it appear to have a comparable amount of protein as Danone’s Oikos Pro. That’s misleading customers into thinking the products have similar protein density, when Oikos Pro contains more protein per ounce, Danone said.
Consumer demand for protein has swept the food industry, fueled in part by the growing number of people taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Protein is being added to so many foods that there’s a shortage of whey protein.
Yogurt is a popular protein source for many consumers, and Danone US and Chobani are the top two yogurt makers by domestic sales, according to the lawsuit. Danone cites complaints with both Chobani’s larger and smaller sizes.
Danone says in the complaint that 5.3 ounces (150 grams) has long been regarded as the standard size for single-serving yogurt in the US, and that in recent years 20 grams of protein per serving has become a critical threshold driving purchases. Chobani’s single-serve high-protein container is 6.7 ounces.
All products in the Oikos Pro line have at least 20 grams of protein per serving, according to the lawsuit. Danone said it invested in developing specialized technologies “to remove water and lactose from milk and to concentrate casein and whey proteins” that have enabled the company to “meet or exceed the critical 20-gram threshold.”
Danone says that Chobani is able to undercut Oikos Pro in price because it’s cheaper to make.
“If the Chobani Product were truthfully named, labeled and marketed, consumers would not see it as a viable alternative to Oikos Pro in the ultra-high-protein yogurt category,” Danone wrote in its complaint.
Chobani didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment. The company says on its website that its extra-straining process allows it to make high-protein yogurt without needing to add protein powders or artificial ingredients.
Photo: Photographer: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images
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