Social Listening: What Consumers Think About Bloom Nutrition and How its Being Taken by Social Media

By: Maureen V

    Many consumers today, specifically women, are drawn to products that have a more aesthetic cover/design to them. It's even more attractive and beneficial if the product is also a health or wellness one that can supplement your daily life. Some might say this may lead to deceiving product design.    

    As someone who is drawn to appealing designs, it can be fun and enjoyable to use an everyday product that gives us something pleasing to look at. Instead of the usual white or plain container that has common text, blending in with every other similar good.

    I happened to stumble across a video on YouTube that had an appealing product in its thumbnail. That's where my interest sparked. Bloom, is a "High-quality, delicious health supplement" at is "made with high-quality, effective ingredients" that provide "amazing benefits to help you feel your best daily" as stated by Bloom's Website about-us page . This product is advertised as a "greens and superfoods" as seen on their packaging.

That can deliver you the daily needed greens that you might not get otherwise. Bloom's website lists several benefits under each blend and what each can offer you, such as bloating relief, supporting digestion, and promoting energy. 

Bloom's value proposition is to assist everyone to "Bloom" into the best version of themselves. They focus on improving those who might be in unfavorable situations with their physical or mental health. Bloom is also highly focused on advertising through social media, specifically with TikTok creators to build brand recognition. Because they are marketing in this way, they have been able to have huge success in their company. Bloom sells a product that innovates the look and flavor of supplements.

All these beneficial and eye-catching statements that so far have only been from the company themselves and their ways of promoting, brings up the real question. What do consumers and social media think about Bloom?

As I stated in the beginning I stumbled across this product on social media, where a content creator (Link to Video) that I enjoy watching. They described the product and went into the controversy that it has bloomed and the traction it has picked up. 

Bloom, like many products that have in recent years, picked up traction quickly on TikTok, where influencers with big followings get sponsored by companies. These sponsors usually are in short videos, uploaded to TikTok that show the influencer using the product in their everyday lives. They then go on to tell their followers that they should check the product out or some sort of indication to tell their viewers that the video was an advertisement. Well, Bloom has taken a different route to sponsoring which has been striking up controversy and shining a bad light that connects to more than just advertising but transparency with the brand.

Recently TikTok creators have been getting sponsored by Bloom. They have directed creators to have the product in the background or show themselves using it for a brief second, to blend into their regular routine that their viewers are used to. While these showings of the product might be quick, creators are not clearly directed to state that the video is sponsored even though they are. Instead, they put the #Bloomparter to indicate the video is a sponsorship. As someone who might stumble upon these videos, viewers can quickly assume that the creator is a genuine customer using the product, which is not the case. Even if they do see the hashtag it is scattered in an abundance of other hashtags that most viewers don't take the time to look at. For that reason, this type of sponsorship is frowned upon and also breaks Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines in advertising and marketing laws for Endorsements, influencers, and reviewers. As stated on their website Influencers must "Clearly disclose material connections" which means clearly stating that you are being sponsored and the video you make is disclosed as an advertisement. I think it's fairly important that clarity and honesty are held with sponsorships. Because it can lead many to think their favorite creator is an honest customer and may lead to disliking the product and maybe disliking that creator.  

(Example of creator sponsored by Bloom)

Creators must disclose connections not just to follow FTC guidelines but also to protect themselves from any legal troubles that the company may endure over its life span. 

In addition to breaking FTC guidelines in honest sponsorships, Bloom has been in hot waters with the actual creators getting offers to advertise Bloom on their TikTok's. Bloom has been inconsistent with how much money they are willing to give certain TikTok creators based on their following. Some might say it's fair but in this situation, creators that have 1,000 or 3,000 followers difference are getting two completely different offers when it comes to showing the product in their video. A website called fypm.vip is a site made by and for content creators. This site shows reviews left by creators anonymously for other creators to get a feel for what each company offers them for assistance in advertising. It describes details of the company guidelines and their flexibility. To get onto this platform you have to go through rigorous steps of confirming that you are a content creator yourself. So faking a review can be quite difficult despite it being anonymous. 

Reviews on fypm.vip that have been brought up in YouTuber's videos reviewing the company have shown that Bloom has been all over the board on this website. Some offers have a crazy amount of money to them and others are not being paid what they are worth. With most creators not getting offered reasonable compensation Bloom has been rated as an unfavorable company to work with. I think it is important to remember that not everything you say to one person will stay with that person. It is unreasonable that Bloom has been in some way cheating out some creators and not others even despite their big budgets.

(consciuslykay TikTok) 

With misleading sponsorships and unwillingness to offer proper compensation to different creators, Bloom has also been described as a "Scam" by customers. Many customers are willing to give Bloom a try with hopes of it helping with certain relieves like bloating. A creator by the name Psychoticdogmom (1540 followers) on TikTok made a video responding to Bloom's unwillingness to hear her feedback on the product "not tasting great" and "not helping with reducing bloating or having any beneficial effects". She goes on to say after her one-month trial she felt the exact same way she started, with this disappointment she went to leave a review of Bloom's website. She left a one-star review with some negative feedback and later checked in to see if there was any response from the company. She soon found out that Bloom does not leave any reviews less than five stars on their website for long. I think it is a lost opportunity for Bloom not willing to give some acknowledgment to these customers or the valuable statements they have to offer that may lead to improvement instead of destruction for the brand.

Many like Psychoticdogmom on social media are giving their honest review, and many are figuring out quickly that Bloom's stated benefits are less than honest. Another TikToker by the name consciuslykay (260K followers) brings up what many have been noticing that the product is not capable of doing because of its lack of ingredients. Some licensed dietitians discussing whether Bloom is a worthy brand to purchase like Lana a licensed dietitian who runs Letmelearnya on YouTube and other platforms discussed Bloom. Lana goes on to say in her YouTube video that because Bloom is a proprietary blend, meaning there is no way of knowing the amount of each ingredient in every product, it's hard to know if it has any beneficial ingredients. She makes a great example that a proprietary blend could literally be made for 90% carrots and the other 10% could be maltodextrin which is a filler to increase the volume of a product. The fact that a product can legally be a proprietary blend blew my mind and made me feel concerned for those who try to find help and solutions with these products. 

(thumbnail of Lana's Video)

Lana also states the most important factor that Bloom products lack, which is that they don't contain high enough doses, fibers, vitamins, and nutrients to help with any of the stated benefits of each product. I think that making a whole company around giving benefits and not showing up with what is stated is a terrible way to start. In addition, creating a good that the ingredients inside are not even possibly alive or active is a terrible move that can leave many following fake results. 

Many more like Lana have been revealing the truth about Bloom products and their effectiveness, but Bloom itself has not made any effort to give attention to these remarks. Bloom is continuing their methods of advertising and product making which surprisingly has not completely slowed them down. I think in some way Bloom not responding is benefiting them more because people like me who never heard of Bloom can be presented with a product that appears to have a clean track. With a clean slate, people are more willing to try the product with no hesitation. I do think that this clean track record will not last for long and as more stories come out the harder it will be for them to get out of the mess they have created.  

If I were a brand manager at Bloom Nutrition I would give more focus on customer feedback. Instead of going fully silent, I would monitor where and what people are talking about Bloom. I would give clarification on any unanswered questions and updates that the product is taking action to improve to gain back trust. I would also take a different approach to the way sponsorships are sorted, by offering a baseline amount for each level of followers as well as being direct that it should state it is a sponsorship. Instead of having the product in the background, these videos should be about how the product helped the creator throughout their daily life. I think making the sponsorship more focused on the difference in change that it can give someone would be more in line with the CEO's intentions and story.  

Takeaway: 

 Not every new shiny eye-pleasing product will be as great as it looks. When purchasing products that are for health and wellness or any product that pops on the shelves magically it is important to see others reviews. Reviews can lead to knowing information about a whole industry and can lead to better purchasing. For companies themselves, I have learned that making a product more transparent can lead to fewer misleading purchases and in return a more loyal and repeating clientele.