GOLETA, Calif. – Apeel Sciences said it filed a lawsuit on August 29, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against wellness influencer Robyn Openshaw and her company GreenSmoothieGirl.com, Inc., accusing them of waging a years’ long disinformation campaign intended to harm Apeel’s business and reputation.
The lawsuit asserts claims for false advertising under the Lanham Act; defamation; trade libel; disparagement of perishable agricultural products; tortious interference with business relationships; and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Allegations Against Openshaw
According to the complaint, Openshaw—known online as the “Green Smoothie Girl”—began posting false claims about Apeel in July 2023. Between then and May 2025, she published at least 60 posts across Instagram, YouTube, X, Rumble, her own website, and elsewhere online falsely stating Apeel’s plant-based coating is toxic and that Apeel’s products are made with solvents and heavy metals.
The lawsuit alleges that Openshaw used those claims to rally her “Green Smoothie Girl Army” of followers to boycott Apeel, urging them to pressure retailers such as Costco, suppliers such as Limoneira and Driscoll’s, and others to abandon Apeel-protected produce. She published the personal contact information of executives at grocery chains, encouraged phone, email, and in-store campaigns, and sold a downloadable “wallet card” listing stores that did not sell Apeel-treated produce.
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