The short-video and livestreaming app mentioned it has cleared 43,000 influencers and 793 sellers which have violated the foundations from its platform.
Douyin introduced the above on its Douyin E-commerce Safety and Belief Middle on Monday (Oct 20).
“Previously three months, whereas conducting inspections, the platform discovered that some retailers and influencers have made used of shoppers’ ‘well being anxiousness’ and repackaged normal meals into ‘well being merchandise or meals for particular medical functions (FSMP)’, or have exaggerated using blue hat well being meals to incorporate medical efficacy and many others. The platform has since launched into a particular administration program to guard shoppers’ buying expertise,” mentioned Douyin.
In China, meals and well being merchandise should not allowed to make advertising and marketing claims associated to illness prevention, therapy, and will state that they don’t seem to be a alternative for medicines.
Based mostly on the examples offered by Douyin, unsupported and exaggerated weight reduction claims had been a few of the most important points discovered.
One instance concerned each the service provider and influencers selling normal meals merchandise as with the ability to “improve metabolism; weight reduction for your complete physique” within the feedback part throughout their livestreaming session.
In addition they sought to direct Douyin customers to their livestreaming room by circulating quick movies making exaggerated product claims.
Douyin mentioned it has cleared the influencers from its platform and have confiscated their fee. The service provider was additionally cleared from the platform, and their funds frozen.
Livestreaming gross sales prevalent in China
Promoting of merchandise via livestreaming is prevalent China. Douyin, particularly, is outpacing conventional e-commerce platforms.
GNC China, for instance, said that 38.8% of its gross sales got here from Douyin final 12 months – solely behind Alibaba Tmall’s 40.3% and forward of JD Well being’s 20.9%. This was a stark distinction from 2022, when Douyin solely accounted for 18.9% of its on-line well being dietary supplements gross sales, with the bulk coming from Tmall (59.6%).
Blue-hat merchandise, natural tea implicated
Other than normal meals, there have been additionally instances of retailers and influencers claiming their blue-hat well being meals as with the ability to produce fast weight reduction results when answering shoppers’ queries.
On this case, the service provider and influencers claimed that buyers may count on to lose 3kg to 8kg of weight by consuming two containers of their product, and claiming that there would “completely be no rebound in weight.”
Blue-hat well being meals are dietary supplements which have been assessed and permitted by the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) both by product registration or submitting.
These merchandise could make particular well being claims and could be offered inside China’s offline retail and home e-commerce channels. Well being dietary supplements that haven’t obtained blue-hat approvals can solely enter the China market by way of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC).
Equally, Douyin mentioned it has cleared each the influencers and retailers concerned from the platform, confiscated their fee and frozen their funds.
Goji berry tea, nutritional vitamins, well being dietary supplements had been the opposite examples the place retailers and influencers have made unsupported aphrodisiac claims.
