Kreyol Essence Discontinues Influencer Advertising Following National Advertising Division Challenge by Mielle Organics

In a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by Mielle Organics, LLC (a subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Company), BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) determined that Kreyol Essence, LLC failed to properly disclose a material connection to an influencer.

Kreyol Essence voluntarily asked the influencer to remove certain posts that did not disclose her financial relationship with Kreyol Essence.

Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process for single-issue advertising cases reviewed by the NAD. Mielle and Kreyol Essence are competitors in the beauty and personal care market.

The issue for NAD was whether Laura Benoit, a hair influencer promoting Kreyol Essence products on social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, failed to disclose her financial relationship and material connection with the brand “clearly and conspicuously.”

Although Kreyol Essence had already made efforts to remove the challenged claims before the filing of the challenge, NAD found that the challenged advertising continued to appear in the marketplace after the challenge was filed.

During the inquiry, Kreyol Essence notified NAD that it had voluntarily discontinued all challenged advertising. For compliance purposes, NAD will consider the discontinued claims as though they were recommended for discontinuation by NAD.

In its advertiser statement, Kreyol Essence stated that it will comply with NAD’s recommendations.