Trip drink advert banned for claiming it makes you calm

An advert by Trip drinks has been banned for making unauthorised claims that it can “help you feel calm”.

The ad for the drink, which includes cucumber, mint and magnesium, also claimed it could reduce stress and anxiety.

This was not in line with rules on marketing food or drink ingredients as having health benefits, the advertising watchdog’s investigation found.

Trip said it had removed the claims while it awaited external advice but hoped to be in a position to make the claims in the future.

Trip drinks has tapped in to a burgeoning market for non-alcoholic drinks, advertising widely on social media and positioning itself as a brand that uses ingredients that, it claims, relax people.

It calls itself the “UK’s No.1 CBD brand”. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is an extract of the marijuana plant and is commonly advertised as a relaxant, though it does not induce a “high” like other compounds found in the plant.

However, the Trip drinks range in the banned advert does not contain CBD.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld three complaints made against Trip’s advert for its cucumber and mint flavoured drink.

The ad appeared on its website in December with the words: “Try me in the morning to help find some calm before a long day, or take a Trip to unwind when work is over.”

The ASA found the company made a host of claims about its “Mindful Blend” range having “viral ingredients”, that were “calming”. These included the supplements Lion’s Mane extract, L-theanine and ashwagandha.

The Great Britain nutrition and health claims register sets out which nutrition and health claims are permitted in adverts for food or supplements.

Some of the language used in the advert, such as “crafted for calm” and “simply help you feel calm” would lead consumers to believe that Trip drinks reduce anxiety, the ASA ruling said. These were implications that were prohibited by the GB register, it said.

The watchdog also found the advert’s suggestion that the magnesium in the drink could reduce serum cortisol levels breached the code. Cortisol is commonly known as the stress hormone.

In addition the ASA found that Trip’s claim of “0g added sugar” was inaccurate and therefore breached the ASA’s codes of advertising.

The firm told the ASA that the sugars in the product were naturally occurring.

The watchdog ruled that the ad must not appear again in the same form, and said it had told Trip not to make claims that its drinks could prevent, treat or cure human disease.

The BBC contacted Trip Drinks for comment following the ruling.