Lifestyle Brand Goop Subject Of UK Complaint

After lifestyle brand goop allegedly made misleading claims regarding its products, a nonprofit charity has filed a complaint in the United Kingdom. The Good Thinking Society has reported the company to the country’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the National Trading Standards, CNBC reported.

For instance, a goop offering named “The Mother Load” has 110 percent of a Vitamin A “daily value” for children over four years old and adults. The product also reportedly has 69 percent of a pregnant woman’s daily value. However, the National Health Service in the U.K. says that women who are pregnant should “avoid taking supplements that contain vitamin A.”

As goop Senior Vice President of Science and Research Dr. Susan Beck told The Huffington Post, “When used as recommended, goop’s The Mother Load supplements are safe during pregnancy. The Mother Load contains a very moderate 450 mcg (1500 IU) of vitamin A (preformed vitamin A as retinyl palmitate), which is less than the recommended daily intake of 600 mcg per day (per NHS).”

The goop lifestyle brand, which was founded by Gwyneth Paltrow, took in $50 million in Series C venture funding earlier this year, according to news from Fortune in March. All in, that fresh investment brought the company’s total funds raised to around $82 million at the time — meaning its total valuation was in the neighborhood of $250 million.

Paltrow’s commerce- and content-focused firm is of her own making. The Academy Award-winning actress is both CEO and creative director of goop. Privately held, the firm does not report its financials to the public, but in comments to Fortune, the firm indicated it had seen its revenue triple over the past two years. The company further told the media that it planned to double its revenue again in 2018 — and that the latest round of funding would be put toward that goal, particularly in the realm of an international rollout of the brand.