Meal supplement business Huel was dealt another blow on Wednesday after the British advertising regulator banned a promotional post for the Steven Bartlett-backed firm, the third such ruling in two months.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) said an Instagram post from Huel from April made unsubstantiated claims about its health benefits and cost relative to fruits and vegetables.
The ad featured company founder Julian Hearn claiming: “You’ve been told your whole life to eat greens and a lot of people can’t get that amount of greens into their diet … we’ve taken a very broad range of greens, so you get a product which is equally good, or in my eyes better, but you get it substantially cheaper.”
The caption of the post read: “Superfoods to supercharge your health. Huel Daily Greens is packed with […] gut-friendly probiotics.
“All the nutrients your body needs to thrive; Reduce tiredness and fatigue with 26 essential vitamins & minerals like iron; Excellent source of biotin and collagen to support smooth, healthy skin.”
The ASA took issue with the comparison between Huel’s product and “greens” as well as the claim that Huel is “substantially cheaper” than produce and the general health claims of the post.
According to Huel, the ad had been shortened due to an editing error. The company claimed the full ad made the comparison with “market-leading daily greens products”, however, it acknowledged the post appeared to compare Huel with fresh vegetables.
Huel provided the ASA with what it claimed was evidence it was “substantially cheaper” than its competitors, however, this did not come across in the post.
The food supplement startup stood by its specific health claims that its product contained essential nutrients; however, it accepted its general claim of being “gut-friendly” was not adequately substantiated.
The ASA upheld all three claims against Huel and ruled the ad must not appear again.
The decision follows a ruling in August that a Huel ad featuring an endorsement from Bartlett was misleading as it did not disclose he is an investor and director at the firm.
Another Bartlett-backed company, Zoe Health, had an ad removed for the same reason this year.