Inside the 2025 Lawsuit Challenging Fresh’s Most Famous Beauty Line

consumer seeing the repeated “SUGAR” claims would believe these lip products actually contain sugar and would be willing to pay a premium for them on that basis.​ Why sugar matters in beauty marketing In the complaint, sugar is described as a “simple carbohydrate” prized in skincare for humectant and gentle exfoliating properties, as well as being a natural source of glycolic acid that can support cell turnover.

Because of these perceived benefits, plaintiffs say consumers are drawn to products that explicitly highlight sugar as an active ingredient and may choose Fresh Sugar over less expensive alternatives that lack those claims.​ The lawsuit also points out that Fresh sells other Fresh-branded products bearing “SUGAR” on the front label that do contain sugar, such as facial scrubs and treatments.

This is cited to show that Fresh allegedly could have added sugar to the lip line as well, but instead used sugar-centric branding without including the ingredient in the formulas at issue.​ The consumers behind the filing Lead plaintiff Helena Burke, a resident of San Francisco, California, says she purchased Fresh Sugar Watermelon Hydrating Lip Balm around August 2024 and a Fresh…