Journey launched in 2019 and rapidly rose in reputation for its botanicals and CBD or magnesium-infused drinks that buyers noticed as a substitute for alcoholic drinks, because of the influencer advertising technique of the model that partnered with vocal advocates for alcohol-free residing.
Its distinctive promoting proposition is a deal with leisure and well-being, however now, the model has been known as out for claims that its Conscious Mix drink, containing magnesium citrate, spearmint, lemon balm, chamomile, ginseng and lion’s mane extract, might cut back nervousness and stress.
What’s the ASA ruling towards Journey for?
Journey promoted its Cucumber Mint Conscious Mix Magnesium Drink on its web site in December 2024 with an advert that claimed the product helped customers “really feel calm” and cut back poor psychological well being.
After a complainant challenged the accuracy of the product’s sugar-free declare, the ASA additionally investigated whether or not the advert improperly steered the drink might deal with nervousness and stress, doubtlessly implying it might stop or treatment illness.
The authority dominated that the Journey’s claims that magnesium and different substances promoted calmness and lowered cortisol ranges labeled as particular well being claims. These claims weren’t licensed on the GB Diet and Well being Claims Register, and as Journey didn’t present licensed proof, the ASA discovered the claims violated promoting laws.
ASA additionally took difficulty with the suggestion that the drink promoted the “psychological well being” advantages of lion’s mane, which they concluded implied the drink might deal with or stop illness, one thing meals merchandise are usually not legally allowed to say.
This resulted within the ASA banning the advert in its present kind and instructing Journey to not make illness remedy claims in meals promoting and to solely use licensed well being claims from the GB Register.
Magnesium well being claims for stress
So was the ASA ruling avoidable? Probably sure, as there are a number of claims that might be tied to the product.
Chatting with NutraIngredients, Luca Bucchini, managing director at meals security consultancy Hylobates Consulting, licensed claims equivalent to “magnesium contributes to a discount of tiredness and fatigue” and “magnesium contributes to regular psychological perform” align with the product’s focus in a way.
The communication on the product might have been constructed round taste, freshness and the licensed claims for magnesium and common well being claims related to the particular advantages, Bucchini famous. The presence of different substances might have then been talked about however with no hyperlink to well being advantages.
“When you’ve minerals or nutritional vitamins within the product, there’s a good basis to speak the advantages of the merchandise that different substances might contribute to, though there aren’t any licensed claims; customers might affiliate ashwagandha with its adaptogenic advantages from private data, even when the label or adverts don’t say so,” he mentioned.
This widespread follow by which manufacturers embody substances which have authorized well being claims, equivalent to these acknowledged by the EFSA, to be able to talk the product’s use, is called ‘ingredient stacking’.
On this case, a declare like “magnesium contributes to a discount in tiredness and fatigue” might have extra appropriately positioned the product helpful for addressing tiredness.
“With creativity, it’s potential to construct a convincing message throughout the limits of the regulation, though maybe not as interesting as entrepreneurs wish to see,” Bucchini mentioned.
Defending the product
Dr. Mark Tallon, managing companion on the Meals Legislation consultancy Authorized Meals, informed NI that the ASA might have upheld the ruling as Journey didn’t defend the substances or associated claims made in regards to the product.
“The requirement in legislation is for the meals enterprise to carry knowledge to help and substantiate their claims,” he mentioned. “Within the case of the botanicals, this could be primarily from the on-hold listing.
“While there have been related claims from the listing that might have been used to defend Journey, they’d have to be primarily based on the correct dose, peer overview knowledge and the precise substance listed as on-hold. This isn’t to say the wording used within the advertising being equal to that on the listing.”
Rachael Matthews, product director at Journey, informed NI that the model can be taking steps to alter its promoting of the related product in response to the ruling however defended the validity of the statements within the advert.
“All statements relating to the related product’s calming properties have been primarily based on real-world research carried out with human contributors,” she mentioned.
“We are going to replace our promoting and proceed to work intently with regulators to make sure that Journey can proceed to teach customers in regards to the performance of substances in its drinks while complying with all relevant regulatory necessities.”
Is cortisol unhealthy?
Lowered cortisol is a keenly trending space of well being, notably on platforms like TikTok, the place customers reference phrases like “cortisol face” and “cortisol stomach”—used to described modifications in bodily look linked to elevated cortisol ranges and related stress.
Journey’s cortisol lowering claims subsequently might make sense to its goal demographic, but it surely brings up a much bigger query about whether or not that’s certainly a well being declare that’s value being made, Dr. Tallon famous.
“There might be many corporations trying to leverage cortisol as a advertising message or underpinning the efficacy of claims,” he famous. “There are alternatives for cortisol-related claims, however care have to be taken on how they’re offered. Is a change in cortisol a well being profit?”
He defined that the problem for manufacturers is discovering the stability between a health-beneficial physiological impact and a factual change within the physique’s perform.
“For instance, consumption of protein leads to a rise in blood amino acids,” he mentioned. “Is {that a} well being profit? Whether it is, say, ‘protein leads to an increase in blood amino acids that help muscle development’, then there’s extra readability of it being a well being profit. Right here lies the artwork of the well being claims interpretation.”
