Are you wondering whether this new trend is facts or faux? Don’t bother with the research, keep reading and you will find all the information necessary to base your decision on whether it’ll be your weight-loss winner for 2019.
So what is it? And what does it do to make you lose weight? From my own research, it says: “Skinny Coffee Club is laxative free and packed with fat-burning ingredients designed to speed up your metabolism, curb cravings and increase energy, helping you get rid of bloat and lose weight with just one cup of coffee each day, when combined with a healthy diet and exercise.”
Skinny Coffee Club has been deemed a “weight-loss miracle” which has now more than 172,000 Instagram followers since launching in the UK. HOWEVER – a nutritionist has slammed the product as a ‘gimmick‘. Skinny Coffee Club, which makes a six-calorie caffeine-filled cup, has just arrived in Holland and Barrett stores from £24.95 for a month’s worth. Is the price worth the promise they offer?
When researching this product, to my surprise, a lot of results pop up with “What are the side effects of Skinny Coffee Club?”… So I obviously had to look into it for you guys…
Skinny Coffee Club uses organic green coffee beans which are actually unroasted coffee beans. Research shows that they contain higher than average amounts of chlorogenic acid and possible side effects from this may include: restlessness, insomnia, fatigue, upset stomach, nausea, and diarrhoea. Also, increased heart rate, irregular breathing, and cardiovascular problems. Just what you want from a cup of coffee, right? I think NOT.
So what do the reviews say?
This was the most recent review that was made available on Trust Pilot. Although, I’ve only used one of their most recent bad reviews for this blog post, I can assure you they only average 2 stars, and 73% of all of their reviews are rated “bad” with only 18% being “excellent”. They really aren’t helping themselves here, are they? This review even highlights how advertising standards have told them to remove their weight-loss claims from their packaging, which they have not yet done… Keep this in mind… I will get onto this later.
Brand Ambassadors?
You might be wondering… who actually would use these products? And well… you’ll be surprised. There are a few “fitness models” and influencers across social media platforms who don’t only use the products, but are actually paid to post about this company.
Here is one of our main celebrities who gets paid to promote this weight-loss product. Marnie Simpson is well-known for featuring on the British reality programme, Geordie Shore. However, she has recently left the show so is obviously having to get her payslip elsewhere.
Instagram Page 
Instagram Page
Marnie was a very loud character on the multiple series’ of Geordie Shore, and she has definitely left a big imprint on social media with 3.2M followers. However, her engagement on her photos are very minimal with only 32K likes – she’s not doing so well there. Also, Marnie has a strong following of young girls aged as little as 16, up to a possible age of 24. Due to having this proportion of followers, maybe using Marnie to promote weight-loss products was a golden ticket for SkinnyCoffeeClub, however not morally correct of them to try to target such a vulnerable age group.
The ASA says NO.
As we could see from the review above, the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) have actually warned SkinnyCoffeeClub before. The ASA rules states that…
In order to comply, an advertiser needs to show that the specific health claims for each of their advertised products are listed as authorised on the EU Register and that the authorised claims relate to the relevant ingredient/s in the product. Similarly, any claim that states or implies that a food has particular beneficial nutritional properties because of its ingredients must comply with the criteria set out in the Annex to the EU Register.
The Advertising Standards Authority
Looking at SkinnyCoffeeClub’s website, they actually make a large amount of unauthorised claims for their products stating that they are “Clinically proven to lose weight fast”, “Increase Energy Levels”, “Helps maintain weight after weight loss” and “Burns fat fast and boosts metabolism”. All of which are not listed on the EU Register as authorised for the claimed effects, which means they are unauthorised health claims and they should NOT have this written on their website or products.
When having a look on their website more recently, it now says this instead…
It makes you wonder how many people they actually interviewed to reach these high statistics? I’ll just let you decide yourself what you think of these high percentages… Hmm…
The ASA also states:
The website also contains before and after images which refer to a specific amount of weight loss within a certain timeframe. As the product is a food supplement, health claims that refer to a rate or amount of weight loss breach the Code.
The Advertising Standards Authority
When talking about SkinnyCoffeeClub, it is evident that they are definitely breaching the code as their website is FULL of ‘before and after’ pictures, take a look.
I’m sure I could go on forever about how not only these products are phoney and a waste of money. But also how the company are performing a huge marketing stunt and producing false claims to the public. Not only that, but are evidently not abiding by the ASA regulations which they set for these types of companies… Who would want to contribute to a company like this’ success? I’ll let you guys decide but I’m sure you know my answer.
Leave a comment down below and let me know! – SpoonfulofKate x
Spoonful of Kate 
Just reading this post made me feel irrationally angry! Do you think social media influencers need to have more integrity when they choose which brands they work with? If someone has a fan-base which is predominantly young and naive, and possibly vulnerable to low-self-esteem or poor body image – eg, thinking they are fat – surely they should have a sense of responsibility not to promote potentially dangerous products like these?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know right, social media influencers need to be more aware about certain products and these types of brands before promoting companies like this. Also, they need to be aware of who their followers are, especially when advertising dangerous products like these. At the end of the day, I think some influencers are more interested in a payslip… so irresponsible!
LikeLike