Several prominent food companies, such as Nestlé USA, Hershey, JM Smucker, Kraft Heinz, WK Kellogg, Mondelēz Global, Frito-Lay, and Grupo Bimbo, have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against major US sugar producers. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court of Minnesota, alleges an anticompetitive information-sharing conspiracy that has artificially inflated prices for granulated sugar since at least January 1, 2019.
The defendants in the case include ASR Group International, Inc.; American Sugar Refining, Inc.; Domino Foods, Inc.; United Sugars Corp.; US Sugar; Michigan Sugar Co.; and Louis Dreyfus LLC. Also named are Commodity Information, Inc. and its sole principal, Richard Wistisen, who are accused of facilitating the alleged collusion by enabling the exchange of sensitive, non-public information regarding prices, production capacity, sales volume, and demand among the sugar producers. The plaintiffs claim they purchased substantial volumes of refined sugar at inflated prices, resulting in an alleged 69% increase in retail granulated sugar prices between January 2019 and October 2024, disproportionate to inflation or production costs.
The sugar producers, who collectively control an estimated 68% of the US granulated sugar market, deny the allegations. ASR Group spokesperson Mariane Martinez stated, "The facts don't support their claims, and we will absolutely prove that as we defend this case." This new lawsuit follows a March 2024 class-action suit, which was consolidated with related cases. However, in October 2025, a court dismissed some defendants' motions, citing a lack of evidence for an explicit agreement to fix prices, and that simply disseminating price information isn't a per se Sherman Act violation. The Department of Justice has been allowed to present arguments in the ongoing cases, emphasizing concerns about information exchange through intermediaries in antitrust enforcement.
Plaintiffs' lawyers contend that the conspiracy is detailed in the defendants' own communications and has impacted a US granulated sugar industry projected to reach $13.5 billion in revenue in 2024. This litigation comes after the DOJ's unsuccessful attempt in 2022 to block a $315 million merger between United States Sugar Corp. and Imperial Sugar Co., where a judge found the government hadn't adequately defined the market to prove that two companies would control 75% of the industry in the Southeastern US. The current antitrust class actions target the broader national sugar market.
