HaHaHa Lab's diet supplement promised 'liposuction-level' results — no basis

HaHaHa Lab, a Tokyo health-food e-commerce company, sold Melatto, a food with function claims built on black-ginger extract. The notified function was modest: the ingredient was reported to help fat consumption in daily metabolism and to reduce abdominal fat in people with higher BMI. The advertising promised far more. Affiliate sites claimed '60.8kg down to 47.2kg in 3 weeks', '-14kg in 2 weeks', 'fat reduction comparable to liposuction' and 'just drink it and your belly fat drops off'; the company's own site added 'visceral fat -4.3cm² + subcutaneous fat -9.5cm² = belly fat -13.8cm²!'.

The Consumer Affairs Agency found the claims implied that anyone who drank the supplement would easily slim down — far beyond the notified scope, which targeted people with higher BMI and guaranteed no dramatic weight loss. The ranking banners ('No.1 diet supplement chosen by women in their 30s-60s', 'six crowns') lacked any objective survey basis. The displays ran from 1 July to 11 November 2022; a measure order followed on 7 December 2023, with the affiliate posts explicitly treated as the advertiser's responsibility.

On 30 June 2025 the CAA ordered HaHaHa Lab to pay a surcharge of 10,860,000 yen — 3% of roughly 362 million yen of Melatto sales recorded between 1 July 2022 and 11 May 2023 — payable by 2 February 2026.