好市多Kirkland龙舌兰「100%龙舌兰」标注诉讼被美国联邦法院驳回

A class action lawsuit that challenged Costco and its Kirkland Tequila brand over the use of ‘100% agave’ has been dismissed in a US court.

Last Friday (16 October), a federal judge from the US District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle dismissed a lawsuit that alleged the retail giant ‘defrauded millions’ of US consumers by selling adulterated Tequila under a false ‘100% de agave’ label.

The lawsuit was filed on 14 November 2025 by Seattle-based consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman.

Representing 14 plaintiffs, including Ariel Glazer, the firm accused Costco of “knowingly selling adulterated Tequila containing ‘significant presence of non-agave sugars’,” using results from private laboratory testing – a method known as Site-Specific Natural Isotope Fractionation-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SNI-NMR) testing – to back up its case.

Kirkland Tequilas are made at NOM 1173, according to Agave Matchmaker, and feature labels that state ‘100% de agave’. The full range (priced between US$18.69 and US$48.99) was implicated in the allegations.

The lawsuit wrote that between 2019 and 2025, 14 plaintiffs had purchased Kirkland Tequilas reportedly on the back of ‘100% agave’ labelling, which “command substantial price premiums, because they signify that the product is unadulterated with non-agave alcohol”.

The plaintiffs argued that the labelling and advertising of the products as ‘100% de agave’ misled consumers as they believed the products contained cheaper non-agave alcohol. They said had they been aware of the information they allege in the lawsuit, they either would have not purchased the Tequila or paid “materially less for it”. The labels also say ‘Hecho en Jalisco, Mexico’ (or made in Jalisco, Mexico).

The case against Costco also alleged that the firm “obtained a false certification of Kirkland Tequila Products as ‘100% de agave’ Tequila in order to sell them in the United States at a premium price.”