Inside the VERY messy spat between a vitamin mogul and rival brand as she lashes competitor for selling similar products for ‘half the price’ – and now even Aussie celebs are taking sides
The founder of a vitamin brand popular with celebrities and influencers has become embroiled in a messy online spat with a rival company that is offering similar products for ‘half the price’.
JSHealth founder and clinical nutritionist Jessica Sepel, 32, lashed out at Life Botanics over the weekend after the budget brand announced a ‘two bottles for $40’ deal for its wellness vitamins, which are sold at Coles supermarkets.
Life Botanics, which is backed by actress and model Jodi Gordon, angered Ms Sepel by spruiking the deal on social media alongside the tagline: ‘If you love JSHealth vitamins, you will love Life Botanics. Identical formulations, same results, half the price.’
Furious: JSHealth Vitamins founder Jessica Sepel (pictured) has become embroiled in a messy online spat with a rival company that is offering similar products for ‘half the price’
A single bottle of JSHealth’s ‘skin and digestion’ vitamins – which Life Botanics sells with similar ingredients – retails online for $45.
Ms Sepel, whose multimillion-dollar company is based in Sydney’s Double Bay, shared Life Botanics’ advert with her 390,000 Instagram followers, and wrote: ‘This is another level of not OK. How low can you go?’
‘I have the strongest community in the world, so please know this is NOT our brand and can never be. Our ingredients are very unique. Our community will help stop this from happening,’ she added.
‘I just have no words for how morally low people will go to make money. Luckily JSHealth was built on efficacy and trust, not the dollars.’
In response to these claims, Lauren Jones, Senior Marketing Manager at Life Botanics, told Daily Mail Australia: ‘We have tremendous respect for the JSHealth products and as manufacturers we have the opportunity to offer consumers better value at a more affordable, everyday price.
‘At its core, healthy competition is a part of the Australian retail market. Our goal is to bring premium-quality products at an affordable price, no matter who we compare ourselves to.’
‘How low can you go?’ Ms Sepel lashed out at Life Botanics after the budget brand announced a ‘two bottles for $40’ deal for its wellness vitamins, which are sold at Coles supermarkets, and used the tagline: ‘If you love JSHealth vitamins, you will love Life Botanics’
Comparison: A single bottle of JSHealth’s ‘skin and digestion’ vitamins – which Life Botanics sells with similar ingredients – retails online for $45. By contrast, Life Botanics, which is backed by actress Jodi Gordon, is offering its ‘identical’ products at $40 for two bottles
Emotional: Ms Sepel also shared a tearful selfie, alongside the caption: ‘Please help me. Please reach out to this company copying us… Morally, this is just awful to stomach’
Ms Sepel also shared a tearful selfie, alongside the caption: ‘Please help me. Please reach out to this company copying us. I don’t care for copycats usually.
‘But morally, this is just awful to stomach. Is this what people will do to make money? We’ve worked hard for a decade to be the most trusted vitamin brand in the world. I know we always will be.
‘But this is causing our customers to feel misled. Our ingredients cannot be replicated because they are exclusive to us (most of them). They are using my name for advertising.’
Ms Sepel then vowed ‘legal action now has to happen’.
Ms Jones responded to these claims by saying: ‘We have only been using comparative advertising to communicate the strengths of our products. This is similar to many examples in the market such as the Aldi advertising model.’
Favourites: Former WAG Nadia Bartel (pictured) used to be a JSHealth ambassador before she was dropped by the brand last year in the wake of her white-powder scandal
Furious: ‘Please know this is NOT our brand and can never be. Our ingredients are very unique. Our community will help stop this from happening,’ Ms Sepel said in response to Life Botanics’ claim its products have ‘identical formulations’ to those of JSHealth products
Success story: Ms Sepel and her husband, JSHealth CEO Dean Steingold, once made the Australian Financial Review’s Young Rich List with an estimated worth of $426million
The dispute between the two vitamin companies escalated when Ms Sepel accused Life Botanics of lying about a charitable donation.
Life Botanics announced on Instagram this week it had made a $20,000 donation to Breast Cancer Network Australia after selling out of its energy and hair vitamins.
Ms Sepel commented below the post: ‘This is even worse. Lies about charity.’
However, a spokesperson for BCNA told Daily Mail Australia a donation had been made, confirming on Monday: ‘We can confirm a donation has been received.
‘It was a nice surprise. All donations go towards BCNA’s services to provide information and support to Australians affected by breast cancer.’
Ms Jones of Life Botanics added: ‘We are deeply disappointed that JSHealth misled their followers that we did not make a donation to our charity partner.
‘Giving back to consumers and the community is what we are all about.’
Celebrity endorsement: Married at First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis is also a fan of JSHealth
Donation dispute: The row between the two vitamin companies escalated when Ms Sepel accused Life Botanics of lying about a charitable donation on Instagram
Ms Sepel shared another post revealing why she’d decided to spark an online row with her competition, writing: ‘You may wonder if my posts are directing attention to this brand that they do not deserve.
‘I don’t really care about that to be dead honest, because they aren’t a threat.
‘I have to stand up for what is right in life. I have to stop this from happening to any other fellow female founders. I have to do this for my brand. I have to protect my formulas. I have to call out such disrespect. It feels right to do so.’
Having her say: Ms Sepel shared another post revealing why she’d decided to spark an online row with her competition
Meanwhile, Life Botanics ambassador Jodi Gordon threw her support behind the affordable brand, saying in a press release: ‘I’ve always taken care of myself inside and out, and a huge part of that is taking the right supplements.
‘But not everyone has been able to afford premium supplements. Other brands have made their products so expensive that ordinary people just can’t afford them.
‘That’s why I love Life Botanics: they put people first with the same amazing ingredients and results for half the price.’
Support: Meanwhile, Life Botanics ambassador Jodi Gordon (pictured) threw her support behind the brand, saying in a press release: ‘I’ve always taken care of myself inside and out, and a huge part of that is taking the right supplements. That’s why I love Life Botanics: they put people first with the same amazing ingredients and results for half the price’
Ms Jones also said: ‘We use the same ingredients as JSHealth but Life Botanics is less than half the price.
‘We absolutely love the JSHealth products that are made for her by other contract manufacturers; however, we feel that everyone should be able to afford them and not just people willing to pay the brand tax.’
Ms Sepel and her husband, JSHealth CEO Dean Steingold, once made the Australian Financial Review’s Young Rich List with an estimated worth of $426million.
The company’s roaring success now sees JSHealth sell a bottle of vitamins every 10 seconds, and there are now plans to expand into Britain, North America and Asia.
A JSHealth spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday: ‘Aside from the legalities involved in this case [with Life Botanics], what is most disappointing is the complete disregard for consumers.
‘JSHealth Vitamins is a brand built on efficacy and trust. Our formulas are completely unique, created with ingredients exclusive to JSHealth.
‘Our JSHealth community trusts us, as is evident in their response to this blatant social media marketing campaign.’
Affordable: Lauren Jones, Senior Marketing Manager at Life Botanics, said: ‘We use the same ingredients as JSHealth but Life Botanics is less than half the price. We absolutely love the JSHealth products that are made for her by other contract manufacturers; however, we feel that everyone should be able to afford them and not just people willing to pay the brand tax’
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