Bought A&W root beer or cream soda in last 7 years? You may be eligible for compensation

Bought A&W root beer or cream soda in last 7 years? You may be eligible for compensation

If you purchased A&W Root Beer or Cream Sodas in the last seven years, you may be eligible to get some of your money back.

A&W Concentrate Company and Keurig Dr. Pepper have settled a $15 million class action lawsuit over the use of the words “aged vanilla” in the soda labeling. According to Today, a judge in New York approved the settlement for Sharpe v. A&W Concentrate following allegations the soda maker “misleadingly stated on the front of the product labels” it used aged vanilla  even though the “vanilla flavor comes predominantly – if not exclusively – from an artificial synthetic ingredient called ethyl vanillin.”

“Plaintiffs claim that consumers interpret defendants’ representation to mean that the characterizing flavoring derives from the vanilla plant, not a cheap inferior substitute for the natural substance,” the suit added.

To qualify, you must have purchased certain A&W root beers or cream sodas between Feb. 7, 2016 and June 2, 2023. Qualifying products include:

  • A&W Root Beer
  • A&W Root Beer Diet
  • A&W Root Beer Zero Sugar
  • A&W Root Beer Ten
  • A&W Cream Soda
  • A&W Cream Soda Diet
  • A&W Cream Soda Zero Sugar

You do not need proof of purchase to file a claim, though that does impact how much you could receive back. Without proof of purchase, the settlement will be $5.50, an amount that could be lowered based on the number of claims filed. With proof of purchase can receive a minimum of $5.50 per claim with a cap of $25.

Payments will be provided by check or electronic payment.

The form to file a claim hasn’t been released yet. You can check back here for updates when it goes live.