GLP-1 claims challenged, joint health in China, and U.S. pet supplement trends

This week’s big news included a potential new class action in California over GLP-1 claims, China’s SAMR considers joint health support claims and key trends in the U.S. pet supplement space.

A class action complaint, brought in both the California Superior Court and the Southern District of New York, accuses wellness brand Lemme Inc. of misleading marketing practices related to its GLP-1 Daily supplement and seeking class-action status on behalf of similarly affected consumers.

Brought by California resident Christina Robins, the lawsuit alleges that there is a lack of “clinical data that supports the notion that simply boosting the amount of naturally occurring GLP-1 in the body has sustained weight loss effects.”

Lemme’s GLP-1 Daily, launched in September 2024, responded to the surge in demand for GLP-1 boosting semaglutide and tirzepatide weight loss drugs, offering “a breakthrough capsule formula” as a natural alternative and without unwanted pharmaceutical side effects like extreme nausea and diarrhea.

“Enter Lemme, a supplement brand founded by Simon Huck and Kourtney Kardashian Barker, hoping to cash in on the GLP-1 agonist craze and swindle Americans into buying their supplements instead,” the plaintiff’s attorneys from Warren Terzian LLP allege.

Commenting independently on the case, Katie Bond, partner at Keller and Heckman, told NutraIngredients: “I think these lawsuits are welcome—at least to all the regulatory and legal people who’ve been wringing their hands and, maybe also, fighting with the marketing team over how, when and where GLP-1 can be mentioned at all. It’s always helpful to have examples of challenges. They often reinforce the rules or help make a seemingly gray area more black and white.”

Although Lemme did not respond to a request for comment, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg Law the lawsuit was ‘frivolous’.

China’s State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) is considering the addition of joint health support into its 24 approved health claim functions.

The SAMR has drafted new regulations that would allow health foods sold in China to make joint health support claims.

A public consultation over the draft has been announced on April 24 and will end on June 2.

The claims proposed include “helps support maintain joint health”, “helps alleviate joint pain/stiffness”, “helps reduce swelling of joints”, “helps maintain joint cartilage health”, and “helps maintain bone and joint health”.

If approved, the claims will be added into the Directory of Health Functions Available to be Claimed by Health Food – Non-nutrition Supplements. There are currently no joint health-related claims in the Directory.

Often described as a fast-follow industry, pet supplements are quick to mimic trends in the human supplement space, and this extends to shopping behaviors. During the recent National Animal Supplement Council in Columbus, OH, Nicole Hill, executive director of strategy at Marketplace, reported that 90% of dog parents purchase their animal companion’s supplements online.

According to Hill, the trends show that consumers look for natural, organic and non-GMO labeling on pet supplement products and understand the difference between these categories. Organic remains the most compelling of categories for these purchasers, as consumers find organic “twice as compelling” when making purchases for pets as compared to non-GMO, Hill said.

There were 36 ingredients that Marketplace found trending this year, including niche ingredients ranging from fermented yeast to spirulina and marine algae. Awareness of prebiotics continues to grow, although somewhat slower than consumer understanding of probiotics.

“You don’t necessarily have to say gut health for consumers to associate biotics with that, although having that reinforced, whether it’s on packaging, in your sales materials and your advertising, helps make the connection and in the space as well,” Hill said.

“That’s where there’s an opportunity for the pet category to maybe be ahead of the human space, because people are more likely to offer those types of proteins to their dogs,” she added.