Happy Mammoth: Aussie supplement business accused of conning women into buying its products with false claims

An Australian “nutraceutical” business has been slammed for its marketing campaigns and claims about the extraordinary results women can expect to achieve from using its expensive dietary supplements.

The Nightly can reveal that Happy Mammoth – an online supplements store lined to Australian and US companies – promises potential customers they will, within days, achieve dramatic physical transformations and rapid weight loss without changing their lifestyle, diet or activity levels.

But these product claims have been found to be questionable, with a former president of the International Menopause Society saying “there is no science here, just marketing”.

The business, which also sells its products in the US and UK, has been cashing in on the $30 billion global menopause market.

The business claims for at least two years it has been a “9-figure Women’s Health Brand” with over 2.6 million customers and more than 90 employees.

Happy Mammoth’s sales tactics include bombarding women on social media with thousands of weight loss ads that reinforce old tropes about menopausal and middle-aged women.

The business currently has almost 4000 active advertisements running across Facebook and Instagram targeting women experiencing menopausal symptoms.

All customers need to do is purchase a $90 bottle of capsules to “lose weight the lazy way now”.

“Forget diets – here’s how to lose 1kg a day at 49,” claimed a recent Instagram ad.

“Lose 3kg by the weekend with this science backed formula,” said another.

Susan Davis, head of the Monash University Women’s Health Research Program, has slammed the online advertising saying she believes it is “misleading and deceptive”.

Professor Davis, a former president of the International Menopause Society, claims the business was “preying on vulnerable women” with “clever marketing nonsense”.

“It is appalling that companies can market unproven products with such promises of benefit that are completely unsubstantiated,” she said.

“The advertising on (Happy Mammoth’s website) is just misleading in my view. These are not scientifically based therapies with any evidence of benefit.”

Prof Davis, also head of the Women’s Endocrine Clinic at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, said there is no evidence that Happy Mammoth products have any effect at all.

“There are no supplements that have been shown to alleviate menopausal symptoms. Any effect has not been found to be better than placebo,” she said.

“I would not even describe these offerings as supplements as there is no evidence they are supplementing anything in my view.

“There is no science here, just marketing. This is purely targeted (advertising) and there should be controls over the claims being made.”

Every social media advertisement features a photo of a Happy Mammoth product, almost always alongside drastic weight loss claims, expressed in kilograms or pounds.

Their advertising carries a fine-print disclaimer which includes “Results may vary based on individual” and occasionally adds “No results guaranteed.”

Under the Therapeutic Goods Act there should also be a clear disclaimer on the labels of products indicated for weight loss which says: When used in conjunction with a program of reduced intake of dietary calories and increased physical activity.

The business – which has a remote workforce of more than 90 employees around the globe – interchangeably describes perimenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal women in its marketing as having a raft of unattractive attributes.

They include – but are not limited to – hamster cheeks, moon faces, flabby chins, turkey necks, crows’ feet, bloated bellies, saggy breasts, constipation, mood swings and being shaped like an apple or “bookshelf”.

The Australasian Menopause Society President-Elect Christina Jang said Happy Mammoth’s advertising paints a “very negative view of being overweight”.

“Many or most women would like to shed a few kilograms,” she said.

“It is a clear marketing strategy and sold on the premise of hope that significant weight loss can be easily achieved through taking a supplement.”

Dr Jang, a Brisbane endocrinologist and leader in the field of women’s health, said in her opinion the purported benefits (of Happy Mammoth products) are “implausible”.

“A single supplement cannot achieve all the benefits that are claimed,” she said.

“Women who have lower health literacy are more vulnerable as they are less likely to see through marketing techniques and unrealistic claims.”

Happy Mammoth’s target audience is likely dealing with real and often debilitating symptoms, yet are being encouraged to buy expensive and possibly ineffective products, on the promise of a panacea, without any scientific evidence.

The direct-to-consumer advertising claims women using its flagship product Hormone Harmony will effortlessly “flush out 8kg of hormonal weight”, “slim flabby arms”, drain their double chin, slim their “cortisol face” and make their stomach look “snatched” within days of commencing use.

It claims its collagen powder will “melt the belly fat like butter left outside in summer”, give women’s “saggy breasts a second life”, “tighten flabby chins in 14 days” and “erase your turkey neck like it was never there”.

It will also apparently transform customers from “SpongeBlob to Snatched in 30 days” and “fill up marionette lines” so you “don’t look like a sad ventriloquist dummy anymore”.

Toxic socials

Despite espousing such claims, Happy Mammoth says it is now “a 9-figure Women’s Health Brand” with more than 2.6 million customers in 36 countries.

The business says that in 2022/2023 “we grew by approximately 300%” and that its bestseller, Hormone Harmony, “sells every 24 seconds on average”.

That might go some way to explaining how Happy Mammoth, which has 850,000 followers across Instagram and Facebook, affords its perpetual social media advertising campaign that inundates women with clever marketing messages.

Meta’s Ad Library reveals Happy Mammoth currently has 3900 active ads being published across Facebook and Instagram. A filter shows that 570 of those ads are published in Australia. However many ads, featuring pounds and US dollars, also appear in Australians’ social media feeds.

In total, Happy Mammoth has bought 28,000 ads from Meta since May 2018.

Most of these ads purport to be product reviews or testimonials, with many even stating “I am not paid by this company to say this” despite it also being declared a sponsored post.

Its website claims customers who use Hormone Harmony lose “on average between 3-9 kgs in 14-30 days … without making any major lifestyle changes”.

Questionable claims

Last month Happy Mammoth launched its new Ultimate Weight Control product and excitedly revealed “scientists are calling the biggest weight loss breakthrough in the last 30 years” but it remains unclear which scientists they were referring to.

The business calls the product “faux-zempic” and claims it will block fat cells from forming, “dissolve old stuck on fat” and reduce belly fat by 56.4 percent.

“It’s proven to target the real root cause of uncontrollable weight gain and melt fat faster than traditional diets, exercise or dangerous injections,” a sales email said.

“Up to 50% more weight loss, 41% slimmer hips, 56.4% smaller waist, up to 50% less cravings.”

If unsure which product to purchase, potential customers are urged to complete a “FREE hormonal quiz for a complete body transformation” to determine which protocol (bundle of three products) will “change your life”.

After completing the quiz twice – the first time portraying someone in perfect health and the second time portraying someone in very poor health – The Nightly was offered two “Urgent Recommendations For The Fastest Results”.

Both cost about $300 for less than a month’s supply.

Sydney-based Accredited Sports Dietitian Nicole Dynan says she is concerned women are being directed to buy certain products after completing an online questionnaire.

“Online quizzes are often framed as personalised assessments but are typically designed to funnel users into predetermined product sales funnels,” she said.

“They provide an illusion of medical credibility without any professional consultation or real diagnostic value.

“If a recommendation is tied directly to selling a supplement or ‘miracle’ product, it’s important to pause and ask ‘is this advice grounded in science, or marketing?’”

Ms Dynan, who specialises in gut health, said these advertising tactics can exploit women’s understandable desire to feel better, look better, and regain control during a challenging life transition.

Happy Mammoth’s online fine print says “information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with your physician, and should not be construed as individual medical advice”.

Happy Mammoth claims it is “the first Natural Health and Nutraceutical company owned by Australians dedicated to solving the most complex health problems”.

“100% natural Australian products formulated to adapt to YOUR unique needs by targeting the body’s crucial ‘command centres’—gut and hormone health,” its website says.

Happy Mammoth says its products – most of which are registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) under Happy Natural Living Pty Ltd – are produced in Australia, the Netherlands and the United States.

“We get our raw ingredients from sustainable sources and produce all our supplements in certified facilities right here in Australia across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,” its Australian site says.

Unhappy customers

Happy Mammoth says its products have “Over 41,724 Five Star Reviews” and that “97% Of Women Recommend Happy Mammoth To Their Friends!”

There are many positive customer reviews on Happy Mammoth’s website but when The Nightly filtered through the reviews, there were also a handful of recent one-star reviews in which customers expressed frustration about the products, with some even claiming they had gained weight since using them.

“It doesn’t do what it says it would & then I had an online chat regarding the 100 percent money back guarantee. But NO joy. It’s a total con. I’m taking it to trading standards,” said one customer.

“4 weeks in and haven’t noticed any changes at all,” wrote another.

“Unfortunately haven’t seen any of the advertised benefits. Have tried getting in touch with Happy Mammoth to request the refund as per the conditions but it isn’t possible! No chat function as they are permanently offline, and no answer to an email.”

Another customer warned others: “Don’t waste your money, it’s absolutely useless and does nothing.”

A customer, posting on another platform, said her one-star review had been removed from the Happy Mammoth website.

“I gave ‘Hormone Harmony’ a go for the past month. I found it useless, giving me zero of the effects it had promised,” she wrote on X last year.

“I’ve put a 1 star review on their webpage only to then find they have no reviews published on their webpage less than 3 stars. Interesting.”

Although boasting an average 4.8 star rating on its own site, a Google search returns countless other online forums filled with wide-ranging reviews about the business, its customer service, returns policy and product efficacy.

Where’s the science?

Happy Mammoth says its Hormone Harmony product “Contains Smart Extracts validated by over 14,087 scientific studies” with a link to a biomedical database of scientific publications called PubMed.

A search of “Smart Extracts”, “Happy Mammoth” and “Hormone Harmony” on PubMed returns no results.

Dr Jang, who is also a senior staff specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, wanted to see the studies herself before commenting on them.

“Whilst the link does indeed take me to the PubMed site, it leads to an empty search engine,” she said.

“When I enter Smart Extracts Hormone Harmony into the search, I get zero results.”

Dr Jang, who is also a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland, said studies about products’ efficacy should be cited directly.

“The highest quality studies compare the outcomes of the study drug compared to an inactive placebo or a drug with proven benefits (to find out if it is better than current standard therapy). No such studies are reported on this site,” she said.

“No side effects are mentioned.

“And there is no way of knowing whether these products are safe or uncontaminated.”

Happy Mammoth and its directors have not responded to interview requests or emailed questions.

If you know more about this story contact kristin.shorten@thenightly.com.au