Teami's detox teas promised weight loss and more — a $15.2M FTC judgment followed

Teami built its tea and skincare sales on Instagram endorsements from celebrities and influencers — Cardi B, Jordin Sparks, Alexa PenaVega among them — posting about products like the Teami 30 Day Detox Pack. The FTC alleged Teami claimed without reliable scientific evidence that its teas aided weight loss, fought cancer, cleared clogged arteries, decreased migraines, and treated or prevented colds and flu.

The disclosure failures were structural. Payment disclosures sat behind Instagram's 'more' link, invisible unless a follower tapped it, and the practice continued after an April 2018 FTC warning letter told the company disclosures had to be visible without clicking anything. On 6 March 2020 the FTC announced the settlement: a $15.2 million judgment — the entire sales of the challenged products — suspended to $1 million paid, on the company's inability to pay the rest.

FTC consumer-protection director Andrew Smith said companies 'need to back up health claims with credible science and ensure influencers prominently disclose that they're getting paid to promote a product'. The settlement, with the warning letters sent to the endorsing influencers alongside it, became the reference case for how the FTC polices paid posts.