NAD Addresses Influencer Disclosures In Challenge Between Competitors

This week, NAD announced a decision in a dispute between Mielle Organics and Kreyol Essence – two competitors in the beauty and personal care market – that focused on whether an influencer had clearly disclosed her relationship to Kreyol in various social media posts. NAD's decision that the influencer's disclosures did not meet the FTC's requirements is no surprise, but readers may be interested to see how the case developed.

Laura Benoit is an influencer who participates in Kreyol Essence's affiliate marketing program. On October 16, 2024, Mielle emailed Kreyol to inform them that Benoit failed to clearly disclose her relationship to the company in 22 TikTok posts. On October 17, Kreyol acknowledged the email and started an investigation. On October 18, Mielle confirmed removal of some posts but threatened to file an NAD challenge if remaining posts weren't removed by 3:00 PM. The remaining posts were removed by October 20, but that was after Mielle had already