Local News

Dunkin’ adds new caffeine drink amid Panera lemonade lawsuits

Dunkin’s new caffeinated “Berry Burst” and “Peach Sunshine” are advertised as fizzy energy drinks made with vitamins, minerals, and caffeine.

SPARKD' Energy by Dunkin' (Graphic: Business Wire)

February 25, 2024

1 minute to read

Dunkin unveiled their new SPARKD’ Energy drink last week, amid the ongoing Panera Bread Charged Lemonade controversy.

Dunkin’s new caffeinated “Berry Burst” and “Peach Sunshine” are advertised as fizzy energy drinks made with vitamins, minerals, and caffeine, according to the company’s website. There’s 192 milligrams of caffeine in a large, according to the site.

However, according to Yahoo News, recent lawsuits filed against Panera claim its Charged Lemonade drink formerly contained 390 mg of caffeine. Safe daily caffeine intake is around 400 mg a day according to the FDA.

Panera’s caffeinated lemonade, is listed on their website currently as containing 234 mg of caffeine in the largest size. This is the same amount of caffeine in a 12-ounce caffeinated soda, according to the FDA’s information about caffeine intake.

This caffeinated lemonade lawsuits popped up in October, November, and December, alleging the caffeine content of the beverage caused the death of multiple people, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

In December, the lawsuit alleged this lemonade, which wasn’t advertised as an energy drink despite its high caffeine content, caused the eventual cardiac arrest of a 46-year-old Florida man who often went to Panera for his lunch during the work day.

“Defendants knew or should have known that the Panera Charged Lemonade, as designed and formulated, once consumed, could injure children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people sensitive to caffeine by causing catastrophic injuries and/or death,” read the lawsuit.