How to market a supplement brand within the rules
A claims audit for supplement brands on Shopify: sort every claim, match it to evidence, reword it for the US, UK and Canada, and set Meta ads up to comply.
What this is for
Supplement marketing is judged claim by claim, and a claim counts wherever it appears: product pages, emails, ads, influencer posts and the reviews you choose to feature. The FTC's definition of advertising is deliberately wide. source, checked 28 September 2026
This guide walks through a claims audit you can run on your own store and then repeat for every new campaign. It covers the US, the UK and Canada, plus Meta's ad rules. It is general information, not legal advice; for a new ingredient or a claim you are unsure of, ask a regulatory specialist. The supplements industry page covers personas and channels for this category.
Time needed and what you need
Time needed: about 4 hours for the first audit. Gathering every claim takes the longest; later campaigns only need the new lines checked.
- Every place you make claims: product pages, emails, ads, influencer briefs, featured reviews, packaging
- The evidence file for each product: studies, ingredient amounts per serving, label copy
- A spreadsheet with columns for the claim, where it appears, type, evidence and decision
- The markets you sell into, since the rules differ by country
The steps
Build the claims register once. After that, every new ad or email is checked against it rather than from scratch.
1. Collect every claim into one register
Copy each benefit statement into the spreadsheet with where it appears. Include images and implied claims, such as a sleep supplement shown next to an alarm clock, and customer quotes you have featured. If a claim is made through a review, you are making it.
2. Sort each claim: structure/function or disease
In the US, a supplement can describe how a nutrient supports the body's normal structure or function; the FDA's own example is "calcium builds strong bones". It cannot claim to treat or prevent a disease, because that is a drug claim. source, checked 28 September 2026
Mark every line that names a condition (anxiety, arthritis, high blood pressure) or implies one. These come out.
3. Match every remaining claim to evidence
For each claim, write down the study that supports it and check that it tested the same ingredient, at the dose in your product, in people like your customers. Customer stories do not count, however many you have. source, checked 28 September 2026
4. Reword instead of hedging
Adding "may" or "helps" to a claim you cannot support does not make it acceptable. Either narrow the claim to what the evidence shows, or remove it. source, checked 28 September 2026
5. Get the US label steps right
Structure/function claims on a supplement label need the FDA disclaimer, and the FDA must be notified of the claim within a set window after you start selling with it. source, checked 28 September 2026
The disclaimer belongs on the label. Copying it under an ad does not rescue a claim that is misleading. source, checked 28 September 2026
6. Never suggest FDA approval
Supplements are not approved by the FDA, and sending a notification is not an endorsement. Remove badges and phrases like "FDA approved" or "FDA compliant" from pages and ads. source, checked 28 September 2026
7. Check UK claims against the GB register
If you sell into Great Britain, health claims must come from the GB nutrition and health claims register, with the product meeting the claim's conditions of use. source, checked 28 September 2026
Two wording traps catch most brands. The claim belongs to the nutrient, not your product name, and "normal function" cannot be upgraded to "improved" or "boosted". source, checked 28 September 2026
8. Check Canadian claims against the product licence
In Canada, supplements are generally regulated as natural health products and need a licence before sale. The recommended use on that licence is the claim you may make; marketing copy should say the same thing, not something bigger. source, checked 28 September 2026
9. Set Meta ads up for the health rules
Meta requires supplement ads to be shown only to adults, so set the minimum age in each ad set's audience settings. It also bars cure claims for a fixed list of serious illnesses, and ads that attack how someone looks. Word the copy about the product, never about the viewer's body or health; the personal attributes guide shows how. source, checked 28 September 2026
A worked example
For a magnesium supplement brand selling in the US and UK
Worked example (an invented brand with invented numbers)
The brand finds 14 distinct claims across its product pages, 6 live ads and its welcome emails.
5 are structure/function claims with human studies behind them at the dose in the product, and they stay. 4 are reworded: two to name the nutrient rather than the product for the UK store, and two from "boosts" to the normal-function wording. 3 name conditions ("eases anxiety", "lowers blood pressure", "stops migraines") and are removed. 2 compare the product to prescription medicine with no evidence and are removed.
That is 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 14 claims resolved. 2 of the 6 ads relied on removed claims and are rewritten around sleep routine and taste, using reviews about the routine rather than results.
Common mistakes
Letting reviews say what you cannot. A featured review that says the product cured someone's insomnia is a disease claim in your marketing. Feature reviews about taste, routine, service and delivery instead.
Borrowing an ingredient's research for your formula. A study on a different dose, form or population does not support your product's claim. Check the match before the claim goes on the register.
Forgetting influencers. Anything a paid creator says about your product is your advertising. Give them the approved claims list in the brief and check their posts before you amplify them.
Treating a before-and-after photo as neutral. A picture can make a weight or skin claim on its own, and in the UK a visual claim that goes beyond the authorised wording is judged like a written one. source, checked 28 September 2026
Doing this with Tilly
Tilly's free brand audit reads your storefront, reviews and marketing, the same material step 1 asks you to gather, though it does not replace your claims review. Every email, post, ad and page change Tilly writes waits for your approval, and ads publish to Meta paused, so each line can be checked against your register first.
Questions people ask
Can I say my supplement supports the immune system?
In the US it may be a structure/function claim if you have evidence for your formula at its dose, plus the label disclaimer and FDA notification. In the UK it must match an authorised claim for a nutrient your product contains at the required amount. In Canada it must match your licence.
Does "traditionally used for" get around the evidence rules?
No. The FTC applies the same evidence standard to traditional-use claims, and expects a clear statement when there is no science behind them. It is safer to describe the tradition without implying a benefit. source, checked 28 September 2026
Do I need a lawyer?
For a new ingredient, a novel claim or a market you have not sold into, a regulatory specialist is worth the fee. This guide helps you arrive with a tidy claims register, which makes that review faster and cheaper.
See this on your own store
Paste your store URL. The first pass takes about a minute and needs no account. Save a card (nothing is charged) and Tilly reads the whole store and works out who buys from you.