NAD Finds Certain "Fewer Calories" and "Less Fat" Claims for Danone Light & Fit Yogurt Supported; Recommends Modifications to Danone Two Good Yogurt Claims

NEW YORK, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs determined that Danone US, LLC has a reasonable basis to support the following claims for its Light & Fit brand yogurt products:

• Light & Fit Original Vanilla has "45% Fewer Calories than average flavored Non-Greek Yogurt."
• Light & Fit Nonfat Vibrant Vanilla has "40% Fewer Calories than average flavored Non-Greek Yogurt."
• Light & Fit Greek Vanilla has "At least 33% Fewer Calories than average flavored Greek Yogurt."
• Light & Fit Original Greek Plain Non-Fat has "At least 50% less fat than average plain Greek Yogurt."

However, NAD recommended certain modifications to "percentage less" sugar claims for Danone's Two Good Vanilla yogurt and Two Good Plain yogurt.

These claims, which appeared on product packaging, were challenged by Chobani, LLC. At issue were several claims that compare a Danone product along a single nutritional metric to "average" competing products in a particular sub-category of yogurt.

NAD determined that Danone's description of its "market baskets" (products that represent at least 85% of the relevant product category) in its claims as "average" did not convey a confusing or misleading message about the basis of comparison but was a reasonable description of its comparison to an average of the products in its "market baskets."

Further, with respect to how the advertiser calculated the nutritional makeup of those products included in its "market baskets," NAD concluded that a weighted average was appropriate to determine the basis of comparison for the challenged claims. NAD noted that yogurt is a highly fractured market and a weighted average, which highlights and emphasizes those products a consumer is more likely to be choosing between, creates a better representation of the touted nutritional attributes. Accordingly, NAD recommended that the advertiser modify the claim that Two Good Vanilla contains "80% less sugar than average Greek yogurts" to reflect the use of a weighted average.   

Regarding Danone's Light & Fit "fewer calorie" claims, NAD determined that it was reasonable to compare Light & Fit to the broader category of flavored, non-Greek (or Greek) yogurt, inclusive of non-fat, low-fat, and full fat products. Additionally, NAD determined that the terms "flavored non-Greek yogurt" and "flavored Greek yogurt" would communicate the broader range of fat content in the included products. Accordingly, NAD determined that the advertiser had a reasonable basis to support its claims that:

• Light & Fit Original Vanilla has "45% Fewer Calories than average flavored Non-Greek Yogurt."
• Light & Fit Nonfat Vibrant Vanilla has "40% Fewer Calories than average flavored Non-Greek Yogurt."
• Light & Fit Greek Vanilla has "At least 33% Fewer Calories than average flavored Greek Yogurt."

NAD found that one reasonable interpretation of the claim that Two Good Plain yogurt contains "80% less sugar than average Greek yogurt" is that the basis of comparison is only to other plain Greek yogurts. Because such a message is not supported by the evidence in the record, NAD recommended that the claim be modified to either compare the product's sugar content to plain Greek yogurts or make clearer that the comparison is being made to both plain and flavored Greek yogurt.

Finally, for the claim that Light & Fit Original Greek Plain Non-Fat yogurt has "At least 50% less fat than average plain Greek Yogurt," NAD found that it is readily apparent that the comparison is to all plain Greek yogurt inclusive of all fat contents and not just non-fat products. In that respect, NAD determined that the comparator was not confusing for consumers and found that the advertiser had a reasonable basis for the claim.

In its advertiser statement, Danone stated that it "agrees to comply with NAD's recommendations" and thanked NAD "for its careful consideration of the challenged Light + Fit and Two Good advertising." The advertiser further noted that although it "disagrees with NAD's decision to uphold other aspects of Chobani's challenge, as a strong supporter of self-regulation, it will take NAD's recommendations into account in future advertising."

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About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs is where businesses turn to enhance consumer trust and consumers are heard. The non-profit organization creates a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers through the development and delivery of effective third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs. Embracing its role as an independent organization since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs today oversees more than a dozen leading national industry self-regulation programs, and continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-directed marketing, and privacy. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.  

SOURCE BBB National Programs