Does a Picture of a Lemon on the Package Communicate That the Product is Made With Real Lemon?

If you're selling packages of "Lemon Snaps" that have big pictures of lemons on them, what does that communicate about how much real lemon is actually in the product? 

A consumer sued Stauffer's in federal court in Illinois, alleging that the name "Lemon Snaps" on a yellow background, along with those pictures of lemons, falsely communicated to consumers that the cookies have a "non-de minimis amount of lemon ingredients" in them.  The consumer alleged that, in fact, the cookies actually contain "no appreciable amount of lemon."  

So, is this lawsuit a lemon? 

The consumer asserted various claims under Illinois law, including claims for false advertising under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act.  In a false advertising case, Illinois uses the "reasonable consumer" standard.  So, in order to prove deception, a plaintiff has to demonstrate whether the advertising "creates a likelihood of deception or has the capacity to deceive" from the perspective of the reasonable consumer.  As the court explained here, "What matters most is how real consumers understand and react to the advertising." 

On a motion to dismiss, the court dismissed the consumer's false advertising claims, holding that, "the representations on the Lemon Snaps packaging do not create a likelihood of deception or have the capacity to deceive consumers because a reasonable consumer would not interpret the packaging as implying that actual lemons are used in Lemon Snaps."  

The court explained that neither the text nor the images on the packaging gave any indication about the amount of real lemon used in the product.  The court wrote, "Neither pictures of lemons nor the color yellow or text stating 'Lemon' gives reasonable consumers the impression that the product contains any particular amount of actual lemon -- and surely not the specific expectation of a 'non-de minimis' amount." 

The court said that this would have been a different case, however, if the product were promoted as "made with lemon" or if the cookies turned out to be mango-flavored.  The court concluded by saying, "But a reasonable consumer buys Lemon Snaps expecting lemon-flavored cookies, which is precisely what she gets."