"toddler drink" plausibly misleads about suitability as next stage after infant formula

Castro v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc., --- F.Supp.3d ----, 2026 WL 184533, No. 25 CV 377 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 23, 2026)

Abbott makes Similac, a milk-based formula powder drink for infants and toddlers. “Go & Grow Toddler Drink by Similac” and “Pure Bliss Toddler Drink by Similac” purport to meet the nutritional needs of children between the ages of twelve and thirty-six months. The labels were allegedly similar to the labels for infant drink formula and indicate that toddler drinks are the next step drink following infant formula. Plaintiffs sought to represent consumers from Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

The toddler drink cans’ similarities to the infant drink cans allegedly falsely represent “that the toddler drink is the logical next nutritional step in formula, even when doctors and experts do not necessarily recommend toddler formula drinks.” The labels were also allegedly false and misleading “because they focus on the products’ purported health benefits while omitting information regarding the health harms of their added sugar content.”

The toddler formula label includes the words “Stage 3,” and that label is visually similar to the infant formula label containing the words “Stage 1” and “Stage 2.” Abbott argued that a reasonable consumer would not ascribe the “next stage” meaning to the label because the similarity of the labels and the words “Stage 3” are not nutritional recommendations.  The court disagreed, given the pleading stage. “Stage” can plausibly indicate a progression. “And the similarity of the cans, as well as their placement on the same shelves as the infant formula, could lead a reasonable consumer to conclude that the toddler formula is nutritionally recommended for children aged twelve to thirty-six months in the same way that infant formula is nutritionally recommended for children up to twelve months.”

The court distinguished Martelli v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 21-CV-10079 (PMH), 2023 WL 2058620 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 16, 2023), which dismissed a similar claim, but there the label also included a disclaimer stating that the product was “intended to supplement the solid-food portion of the older baby’s diet” and was “not intended to replace breast milk or starter formulas.” Whether the disclaimer made a difference was an issue for later.

Additionally, plaintiffs alleged that Abbott’s representations about the health benefits of the drink were misleading because the formula contains four grams of added sugars, which are decidedly unhealthy. The cans did disclose their sugar content on the back labels, but again it was plausible that a reasonable consumer could think they didn’t have to consult the back.

This reasoning also allowed a claim for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability: plaintiffs alleged that “a balanced, nutritious diet excludes sugar-sweetened beverages for children above 12 months, and otherwise limits added sugar to less than 5% of calories, whereas regular consumption of the Toddler Drinks is detrimental, rather than beneficial to health.” They sufficiently alleged that the toddler formula is not “fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used,” namely, to provide a healthy supplement to a toddler’s nutrition.