The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a paid Facebook ad for Nutrition Geeks creatine, ruling on 14 October 2026 that it carried health claims not authorised for use in Great Britain. The ad, seen on 23 May 2026, said the supplement was "Clinically backed to support muscle strength", carried the overlaid text "FROM PANCAKE TO PEACH Creatine fuels the muscle your protein can't build alone", and showed a before-and-after drawing of a bottom in which the "after" image appeared more shapely. A product image carried the words "Muscle Definition". One complainant challenged whether the ad breached the rules on health claims in food advertising. The ASA upheld the complaint and found breaches of CAP Code rules 15.1, 15.1.1 and 15.7. Nutrition Geeks is run by Unicorn Brands Ltd and the ad was placed through the agency Hambi Media. The ruling tells the company the ad must not appear again in the form complained of.
Why the wording failed the register test
Only health claims listed on the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register may be used in food marketing, and only in the authorised wording or a rewording consumers would read as having the same meaning. Two authorised claims cover creatine: "Daily creatine consumption can enhance the effect of resistance training supplements on muscle strength in adults over the age of 55" and "Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise". Unicorn Brands told the ASA it had based its wording on the second claim and that "support" was a weaker adaptation of "increases". The regulator found the ad dropped both the over-55 limit and the high intensity exercise context, so it did not carry the same meaning for consumers, and said the imagery and "Muscle Definition" wording "exaggerated the effect of creatine".
What this means in practice
An ad has to match the register, whatever the evidence behind an ingredient looks like. A claim can be scientifically arguable and still breach the Code if it is not on the list or if it drops the conditions attached to it. Great Britain uses the GB register maintained by the Department of Health and Social Care, while Northern Ireland continues to follow the EU register, so the two lists can diverge. The advertiser told the ASA the product provides 3.5g of creatine per serving, which it said met the register’s condition of a daily intake of 3g. Nutrition Geeks told The Grocer it had believed its wording was a permissible rewording and said: "We accept the ASA's view, have taken it on board and complied with the ruling." It said the ad had been withdrawn, would not be reused, and that guidance had gone to its external marketing partners.
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Perqen membership costs £4.99 a month or £29.99 a year and applies member pricing across the full 1,393-product catalogue. Everything stocked is a food supplement from an established brand, supplied through an authorised EU distributor.
This article reports published news and research and is for information only. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet or medical care, and no product mentioned is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescribed medicines.