Dose #189: Claims, Compliance, and Where Subscription Brands Get Burned

Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

What can you say about your product in your marketing and on the product page? In this week’s dose, we dive into the ins and outs of making claims - starting with what is verifiable, avoiding any claims related to medical outcomes, and paying attention to compliance with legal subscription practices.

This week’s dose is also a podcast interview with Natascia Taken, an experience claims and compliance lawyer for CPG. Take a listen (or watch) on your favorite platform:

Claims to Make, and Claims to Avoid

One of the topics most subscription brands worry about but rarely talk about until it becomes a problem is claims - what you can say about your product, how you say it, and what you put in ads, emails, and testimonials.

If you’re running a supplement, beauty, food, or consumer product subscription, you might already have had this question: “Am I safe saying X?” I hear that a lot. Too many teams wait until they get a warning letter, lawsuit, or FTC complaint before they take compliance seriously.

Or even worse, you say what another brand is saying because it feels safe, without knowing the risk they’re comfortable taking.

Compliance isn’t just legal risk avoidance. It’s also good business. If customers feel misled or unclear about expectations, retention drops. If your copy exaggerates outcomes, you’re setting yourself up for disappointed subscribers and churn.

Here are three things to focus on when it comes to making claims.

1. Build claims on verifiable evidence, not assumptions

Every brand wants to communicate value. But the problem shows up when copy crosses from benefits into promises that can’t be backed up with real evidence.

The reason this matters is simple. Claims that imply a direct health outcome or performance result without solid science to back them are exactly what regulators look for when they decide to send warning letters or pursue action. Vagueness tricks no one. Clear claims get brands into legal trouble.

When I think about setting expectations with subscribers, I start with what is provable. What do you actually have evidence for? What study, research, data, or user result can you point to? That becomes the foundation for responsible messaging.

For example, instead of saying a product causes a specific medical outcome, frame it around supported physiological functions or general wellness support. If you have data that shows support for metabolism or healthy digestion, talk about that instead of outright weight loss or disease treatment.

This protects you legally and preserves trust with subscribers. They know what you meant. You know what you can support with evidence.

2. When you use customer quotes, treat them like your own claims

Testimonials are perhaps the clearest trap in subscription marketing.

The instinct is understandable. If someone says they lost 15 pounds, felt dramatically better, or experienced life-changing results, that’s powerful social proof. But here’s the problem: regulators view a quoted claim the same as if the company made it itself.

That means a testimonial that suggests a specific outcome a product might not reliably deliver becomes a company claim. You cannot lean into those statements if you cannot back them with evidence. Worse, editing or cherry-picking them without context amplifies the risk.

If you want to use testimonials, monitor and curate them carefully:

• Choose quotes that reflect neutral, experience-based language rather than specific measurable outcomes.

• Avoid exact figures that imply consistent performance for all users.

• Steer toward feedback about experience rather than outcome.

When you do this, testimonials become an authentic reinforcement of your message, not a legal liability.

3. Your cancellation and pricing practices are part of your compliance story

Compliance isn’t only about product claims. Subscription practices themselves increasingly attract regulatory attention.

For example, if you make it easy to sign up online but require a phone call to cancel, that’s widely considered a bad practice. In many enforcement actions, regulators have taken issue with confusing cancellation processes or lack of transparency in pricing and renewal disclosures.

The reason this matters for retention is obvious. Friction or frustration in cancellation experiences erodes trust, and when customers feel trapped or misled, they churn sooner or give up and complain on review platforms or to regulators.

So take a look at your cancellation pathway, your renewal reminders, and the way your pricing is presented in ads and emails. Make sure you are transparent about how and when customers will be charged next and that the method for cancelling matches how they signed up.

This builds trust and reduces the chance of regulatory scrutiny or subscriber frustration that impacts your LTV.

Final thought

You do not need to dial your compliance up to “kill conversion.” Good claims and transparent processes can convert well so long as they align with what your product actually delivers and what you can substantiate about it.

Think of compliance as part of your value proposition. When customers feel the messaging is honest and clear, they are more likely to stay subscribed and refer others.

Until next Tuesday, that’s your Subscription Prescription. 💊

 - Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc