Protecting kids from deceptive and unsubstantiated health claims: the FTC’s case against TruHeight

Parents and kids (like all consumers) need clear, truthful information to make informed decisions — especially when those decisions affect their children’s health and physical safety. With that in mind, the FTC is working to protect kids and teens from deceptive health claims. Take the Agency’s recent case: the FTC charged Vanilla Chip LLC, which does business as TruHeight, with using unsubstantiated health claims and fake or incentivized reviews to market its supplements to kids, teenagers, and caregivers.

According to the FTC, since at least 2020 TruHeight marketed its protein shakes, gummies, capsules, and other supplements as clinically proven to increase height in children, teenagers, and young adults. TruHeight’s advertising claimed: 1) its products caused children and teenagers to grow taller than they would otherwise, 2) that these health claims were backed by clinical evidence, and 3) that the height increases described in customer testimonials were the result of using TruHeight products.

But the company’s purported “clinical evidence,” according to the FTC, consisted only of a single, company-sponsored study of 32 subjects — a study that showed no meaningful differences between the treatment and control groups. The FTC also says many of TruHeight’s glowing reviews were written by employees or by customers offered discounts in exchange for 5-star reviews. (TruHeight even paid a vendor to create fake, automated social media profiles to post fake reviews.)

To resolve allegations that TruHeight’s practices violated the FTC Act and the FTC’s Reviews and Testimonials Rule, the company has agreed to a $4 million judgment (much of which will be suspended due to inability to pay) and is prohibited from making unsubstantiated or misleading claims about its products in the future.

Does your business make health claims to kids or teens? If so:

• Know that unsubstantiated health claims are prohibited by Section 5 of the FTC Act. Ensure that your health claims are based on competent and reliable evidence.
• Match your claims to your evidence. Overstating or exaggerating how well a product or service performs can mislead your customers, damage your reputation, and hurt competitors who play by the rules. And health claims in particular must be supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. The FTC’s website has guidance on how you can tell if your advertising is likely to mislead people.
• Be transparent about reviews and testimonials. Potential customers rely on reviews and testimonials to learn how your product or service worked for others. They also want to know if the review is genuine and comes from an unbiased consumer, because these factors may affect how much weight they give the review. If a review is written or created by your own employee, a vendor, a paid endorser, or another person with ties to your company, make that clear.