Home And Away star Jodi Gordon has broken her silence on the raging war between luxury vitamin brand JSHealth and budget upstart Life Botanics.
Life Botanics, which is backed by Jodi, entered the vitamin market six months ago by offering “nearly identical” products to JSHealth’s, which sold for half the price.
Jessica Sepel, the founder of JSHealth, has since criticized Life Botanics online, branding the company “copy cats” and threatening legal action.
Home And Away star Jodi Gordon has broken her silence on the raging war between luxury vitamin brand JSHealth and budget upstart Life Botanics. Pictured on the left is Jodi Gordon and on the right is JSHealth founder Jessica Sepel
Despite previously keeping a dignified silence on the matter, Jodi finally weighed in on Tuesday during an interview with Daily Mail Australia.
‘I don’t participate in that’ [pubic battle with JSHealth], but if you look at the facts here. You buy quality vitamins at an affordable price,” she said.
‘It’s an Australian family run business and I love that they make high quality products that are affordable for Australians,’ she continued, adding, ‘I mean, what could be better than affordable vitamins? Especially in these times when things are so expensive.’
‘I don’t participate in that’ [pubic battle with JSHealth], but if you look at the facts here. You buy quality vitamins at an affordable price,” Jodi told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday
Jodi partnered with Life Botanics at the start of the year and swears by the brand’s hyaluronic acid capsules and marine collagen powder to hydrate skin and promote hair and nail growth.
Life Botanics first sparked the ire of Mrs. Sepel, aclinear nutritionist, back in February, when it advertised its “two bottles for $40” deal on social media alongside the tagline, “If you like JSHealth vitamins, you’ll love Life Botanics.” Identical formulations, same results, half the price.’
A single bottle of JSHealth’s “skin and digestive” vitamins — which Life Botanics sells with similar ingredients — retails for $45 online.
Life Botanics, which is backed by Jodi, entered the vitamin market six months ago by offering “nearly identical” products to those of JSHealth, sold for half the price
Jessica Sepel (pictured), the founder of JSHealth, has criticized Life Botanics on several occasions, branded the company ‘copy cats’ and threatened legal action
Jodi partnered with Life Botanics at the start of the year and swears by the brand’s hyaluronic acid capsules and marine collagen powder to hydrate skin and promote hair and nail growth. Jodi is pictured with Life Botanics founder Jimmy Seervai (right)
Ms. Sepel, whose multimillion-dollar business is based in Double Bay, shared the Life Botanics ad with her 390,000 Instagram followers, writing, “This is another level of not OK. How low can you go?’
“I have the strongest community in the world, so please know that this is NOT our brand and never can be. Our ingredients are very unique. Our community will help prevent this,” she added.
“I just have no words for how morally low people will go to make money. Fortunately, JSHealth is built on effectiveness and trust, not on the dollars.’
Life Botanics first sparked the ire of Ms. Sepel, a clinical nutritionist, in February when it advertised its “two bottles for $40” deal on social media alongside the tagline, “If you like JSHealth vitamins, you will love Life Botanics. Identical formulations, same results, half the price.’
Commenting on 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 more value at a more affordable, everyday price.
‘At its core, healthy competition is part of the Australian retail market. Our goal is to bring top quality products at an affordable price, no matter who we compare ourselves to.’
Ms. Sepel also shared a tearful selfie, alongside the caption, “Please help me. Contact this company that copies us. I usually don’t care about copycats.
“Please know that this is NOT our brand and never can be. Our ingredients are very unique. Our community will help prevent this,” Ms. Sepel said in response to Life Botanics’ claim that its products have “identical formulations” to those of JSHealth products.
“But morally, this is just awful to digest. Is this what people will do to make money? We have worked hard for ten years to be the most trusted vitamin brand in the world. I know we always will be.
‘But this makes our customers feel misled. Our ingredients cannot be replicated as they are exclusive to us (most of them). They use my name for advertising.’
Ms Sepel then swore that ‘legal action must be taken now’.
Ms. Sepel also shared a tearful selfie, alongside the caption, “Please help me. Contact this company that is copying us… Morally this is just awful to digest’
Ms Jones responded to these claims by saying, “We have only used comparative advertising to communicate the strengths of our products. This is comparable to many examples in the market, such as Aldi’s advertising model.’
The war continued in March when Life Botanics publicly shared the formulations of a JSHealth product and a similar Life Botanics product, demonstrating how the budget brand offers “premium ingredients without the premium price tag.”
An excited Ms. Sepel responded by telling Instagram followers, ‘When you wake up to brands copying you? It can be difficult. I’ve seen 3x in a week. But no one can repeat our concern for our customer’s health. The community. The power of the brand. The attention to detail on the formulations.’
The war continued in March with Life Botanics publicly sharing formulation breakdowns of a JSHealth product and a similar Life Botanics product, showing how the budget brand offers “premium ingredients without the premium price tag.”
“A reminder to stay in your lane, not look left or right. Take it as a compliment.’
But instead of ignoring the sled, Life Botanics shared a screenshot of her post alongside the provocative caption, “Spot on, JSHealth, it’s a compliment!
Ms. Sepel and her husband, JSHealth CEO Dean Steingold, once made the Australian Financial Review’s Young Rich List worth an estimated $426 million.
JSHealth uses influencers to promote its brand on social media. Pictured is Married At First Sight’s Martha Kalifatidis posing with a bottle of branded vitamins