Hey Breyers, Where Are the Vanilla Beans?

MrConsumer is lactose intolerant and therefore is limited in his choice of ice creams. His go-to bargain brand has been Breyers Lactose Free. But he was in for a surprise a couple of weeks ago when he switched back to the vanilla variety after having been buying the chocolate version for about a year.

Breyers has advertised on TV for years that it uses real vanilla beans in its natural ice cream:

Note: this ad is not for their lactose-free product

Although a large scoop with flecks of vanilla beans was prominently pictured on the top, front and back panels of the Lactose Free Vanilla carton that MrConsumer bought, upon opening it, none was to be found. This is contrary to past practice for this variety.

*MOUSE PRINT:

There has been a huge run-up in the price of vanilla in the past year. Could Breyers be cutting corners by leaving out the flecks? We asked Unilever, the maker of Breyers, about that as well as why the container depicts the flecks but there were seemingly none inside. Neither the company nor its PR firm has responded to three inquiries.

From a consumer standpoint, showing one thing on the packaging but delivering something different inside is a pictorial misrepresentation, and can be considered an unfair or deceptive practice under state consumer law.