What can health and wellness brands learn from The Glucose Goddess' supplement claims?

I recently wrote a blog on the importance of avoiding greenwashing in your marketing. Many of the salient points covered things like overpromising or making claims you cannot substantiate. Then I wrote some copy for a fantastic supplement brand, around the time Jessie Inchauspé released her own supplements – the stars aligned and the idea for this blog came to me in a dream.

Ok, not really. But the timing just worked and I found it all very interesting. What the timing of these events has reaffirmed for me is that this question of overpromising isn’t just an issue for sustainability messaging, it’s critical for any health and wellness brand. Bold health claims can make or break consumer trust.

One brand that has recently found itself at the centre of this discussion is that of Jessie Inchauspé, popularly known as the Glucose Goddess.

The Glucose Goddess has built a huge following by translating complex metabolic science into digestible (pardon the pun), actionable tips.

With appearances on Diary of a CEO (which has already garnered negative attention after being accused of misinformation – particularly when it comes to nutrition and wellness), books, and now her very own TV show, Jessie has influenced many of us to reconsider our meals, the order in which we eat our foods, and to pay more attention to our blood sugar levels.

That’s pretty good, right? With so many Brits at risk of type 2 diabetes, getting people to consider their eating habits can only be a positive.

Right?

Well, it depends.

While her advice on dietary habits initially resonated with many, her latest product launch – the “Anti-Spike Formula” supplement – has raised questions from many of her followers, not to mention concerns from both scientific and ethical marketing standpoints.

glucosegoddess.com

Let me caveat by saying I am NOT an expert nor a nutritionist by any means, I’m just a writer for health and wellness brands. These are my opinions on the launch of the product from a messaging and copywriting standpoint.

The promise

Jessie’s Anti-Spike supplement claims to reduce blood sugar spikes after eating by 40%. There’s our first issue. As I mentioned in my greenwashing blog, if you’re going to make a claim with a statistic… back it up.

not like this^

Unfortunately, no clinical studies or trials have been done on this supplement for that to be possible. There have been studies on the individual ingredients packed into the product, but these studies are neither strong enough to support the claims, nor do they say anything about these ingredients being used in conjunction with each other.

As any nutritionist or scientist will tell you, one ingredient used in isolation may have one effect, but combining it with others has the potential to change that effect entirely, for better or for worse. Until studies are undertaken on all of the ingredients together, you cannot guarantee what effect they will have.

There are several other claims coming out of this product, all highlighted and often debunked in an enlightening article by nutritionist Sophie Gastman for Women's Health Magazine. If you want to learn more about the nutritional science behind the claims, I highly suggest giving that a read.

The Message

Unsubstantiated claims are one thing, the message behind your product is another. Natalie Louise Burrows makes a great point in her article for healf, that there’s a certain message conveyed by the name of this product.

She says, “the notion of yet another ‘Anti’ pill to suppress the body’s natural expressions is something I struggle to endorse.”

Her point here is that the body is expressing a natural response to something. This is not wrong and insinuating that it is verges on a fear-based approach to marketing. Perhaps the thing it’s responding to is what needs to be put under the microscope, instead of attacking it with a product designed to block the body’s natural responses.

Some criticise this approach because it suggests misleading freedom from dietary moderation – that you can eat everything you want because the magical pill will balance out the damage. Perhaps the reason this has rubbed many of her followers up the wrong way is because it’s inconsistent with her previous message which has been to be more mindful of your eating habits and food choices.

What can we learn from this?

For purpose-driven and health and wellness brands especially, resorting to exaggerated claims in an attempt to captivate audiences has a certain allure. A bold headline with a powerful statistic, promising something we all desire is a tempting hook – but it’s one to be avoided. Any claim you make that you cannot back up with evidence only serves to destroy trust and reputation.

Additionally, think about the consistency in your messaging. Does what you’re saying align with previous messages you’ve expressed? Is it the same one that built your community and amassed your following? Or is it actually contradictory and confusing?

Whoever I’m writing for, honest, truthful messaging is always paramount. But with purpose-driven or health and wellness brands especially, one of our biggest priorities when working on their copy is NOT to make any promises they cannot keep.

This is especially important for brands that are building a reputation on serving a purpose that’s bigger than profit, disrupting the industry with their honest, no-BS approach to business, or vowing their existence is to help others.

Powerful messaging without overpromising is a hard balance to strike, but if you need a hand making sure you don’t go over the line, you know where to find me.

Let's chat.