KIND Bar Lawsuit: The 'All Natural' Case KIND Won

What the Lawsuit Claimed

The KIND litigation began in 2015, after the FDA warned KIND that some bars did not meet the requirements to be labeled “healthy” because of their saturated-fat content. Consumers then filed suits, consolidated into a multidistrict litigation, alleging KIND deceptively marketed products as “all natural” and non-GMO despite allegedly containing synthetic or genetically modified ingredients, and as “healthy” when they did not meet FDA criteria.

A judge certified classes in New York, California and Florida, and the case looked like a serious threat to the brand.

Why KIND Won

Despite class certification, the district court granted summary judgment for KIND, concluding the plaintiffs had failed to establish how a “reasonable consumer” understands the vague term “all natural” — without a shared, provable meaning, they could not show the label was misleading. A federal appeals court affirmed in 2024, ending the litigation in KIND’s favor. There was no settlement or payout.

The outcome is a leading example of how “all natural” cases often fail: the term is too ambiguous to pin down a deception.

What It Shows

“All natural” has no fixed FDA definition, which cuts both ways — it lets brands use it loosely, but also makes it hard for plaintiffs to prove it misled anyone. For shoppers, the ingredient list is more informative than the phrase. There is no claim to join here; KIND prevailed.