FTC Finalizes $750,000 TruHeight Order Over Kids’ Supplement Growth Claims

The settlement bars TruHeight and its principals from unsupported health marketing and from using reviews tied to required positive sentiment.

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order requiring TruHeight and its two principals to pay $750,000 and stop making deceptive or unsupported claims that its supplements can promote height growth in children and teenagers.

The order resolves the FTC’s April 2026 allegations against Vanilla Chip LLC, which does business as TruHeight, and principals Eden Stelmach and Justin Rapoport. The agency said the company marketed a range of supplements with claims about boosting children’s and teens’ height growth without competent and reliable scientific evidence.

The final order imposes a $4 million judgment against the company and the two principals. The FTC will suspend all but $750,000 based on their asserted inability to pay the full amount. The suspended balance can matter if the payment-related financial representations that supported the settlement are found to be inaccurate.

For supplement marketers, the compliance obligation is broader than height claims. TruHeight, Stelmach and Rapoport are barred from making false or unsubstantiated claims about height or growth. They also cannot make claims about a covered product’s health benefits, performance, efficacy, safety or side effects unless those claims are not misleading and are backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

The order also targets the company’s review practices. The FTC alleged that TruHeight used reviews written by employees and vendors, as well as consumer reviews obtained by offering free products or discounts in exchange for five-star feedback. The complaint further alleged that the company used fake social-media profiles presented as real users but operated by bots.

Under the final order, TruHeight and its principals cannot misrepresent that a reviewer exists, used the reviewed product, or had the experience described in a review. They also cannot buy consumer reviews conditioned on a particular sentiment, positive or negative.

The FTC voted 2-0 to finalize the complaint and order and to issue a response to a commenter. The agency did not provide details in its announcement about the commenter or any public response from TruHeight or its principals beyond the enforcement record.

For compliance teams, the case is a direct warning about marketing to parents and younger consumers. Product pages, paid social campaigns, testimonials, influencer materials and review-collection programs all need controls that match the same standard: health and growth claims require reliable scientific support, and customer feedback cannot be purchased or shaped through rewards contingent on a favorable rating.

The order is specific to TruHeight and its principals, so it does not itself establish a new industrywide deadline. But its financial judgment and detailed marketing restrictions show how the FTC is enforcing existing substantiation and review-practice requirements against supplement brands that market child-focused health outcomes.