Case #186-2024: Administrative Closure – Gel Moment

BBB NATIONAL PROGRAMS

Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council
Case #186-2024: Administrative Closure - Gel Moment

Company Description

GelMoment (or the “Company”) is a multi-level direct selling company that sells beauty products, including nail and skin care, makeup, and hair products. The Company is headquartered in Montreal, Canada and sells products and recruits salesforce members in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Basis of Inquiry

The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (“DSSRC”) is a national advertising self-regulation program administered by BBB National Programs. This inquiry was commenced by DSSRC pursuant to its ongoing independent monitoring of product and income claims in the direct selling channel.

This inquiry concerned 16 social media posts containing earnings claims. DSSRC was concerned that the posts conveyed unsupported claims regarding the significant income a typical salesforce member could earn from the Company's business opportunity, including claims that the typical salesforce member could earn full-time income, be their own boss, obtain financial freedom, and/or earn incentive trips through the Company’s business opportunity. The posts at issue were disseminated on various social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. 

The representative earnings claims identified by DSSRC are enumerated below:

• It's a great time to join me on this GelMoment adventure!! Do you want to...💅earn your GelMoment product for free? 💅earn a second income or replace your current/lost income? 💅have fun! You can earn as little or as much as you want with GelMoment.” (12/2020)
• “You can make being a GelMoment Distributor work for you. Whether you want to feed your nail addiction or quit your job and work from home.” (7/2020)
• “Best case scenario, you join, your business takes off, and you can quit your 9-5 job!” (1/2021)
• “I told myself if I could make 300-500$/ month we could make me staying home with the boys work. Well guess what, I’ve consistently hit that goal for more than 12 months now and I am continuing to grow this little business.” (2/2022)
• “financial freedom” (12/2023)¹
• “It has given me extra $ to pay bills” (2/2023)
• “Making Full Time Income for Part Time hours is a REALITY!!” (2023)
• “Paying monthly bills with the money I make from this business is a HUGE win for me! It has definitely given our family some breathing room every month and when you have three rapidly growing eating machines, you will definitely need the breathing room! 😅💪 What would you use an extra $500 a month for???” (2/2023)
• “Looking for a way to make a few extra dollars to help pay the bills?...Not only that, this business has taken me to Mexico, Florida, a cruise to Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Turks & Cacaos and even to the head office in Montreal!” (2024)
• “get rewarded with benefits like INCENTIVE TRIPS, PERKS, BONUSES”
• “Fast forward one year, I made the difficult decision to request an unpaid leave from my career to do remote learning with my kids. Since this means we are down to one income, GelMoment has given me the opportunity to make extra income that directly helps to support my family. I never expected that the money I made from my little side hustle would turn out to make such a big difference for my family! 🥰 Since August, I have made over $15,000 in personal sales! That’s huge for me considering it took me a year to make my first $10,000 in sales!” (1/2021)
• “You are in control of your income (Need a little extra cash? Book a Party!) 💰” (9/2023)
• “What would you do with an extra 💲6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ a month?  I swear the cost of groceries and everything else keeps going up and up. I can't even imagine for those of you who have kids!” (5/2023)
• “You could be your own boss, work hard & join me on our next incentive trip.” (1/2024)
• “Financial freedom is the dream. A "side hustle" can help or it can be the answer. Or it simply isn't a side hustle, it's your full-time gig. How has gelmoment contributed towards your income?”
• “What have you done with your income from GelMoment? I went to Cuba last March, I am on the GelMoment cruise right now (paid for by GelMoment), bought some GelMoment things, of course, and going to Mexico next March!” (4/2024)

Company Position

The Company responded to DSSRC’s inquiry by contacting the individuals responsible for the social media posts to request their removal. The Company successfully removed 13 of the 16 posts. With respect to the three social media posts that remain publicly available, the Company informed DSSRC that all were made by salesforce members that are no longer active with the Company. The Company contacted the three individuals to request that they take down the posts and also reported the posts to the platform on which the claims appeared (Facebook) to request that they be taken down. The Company also provided DSSRC with copies of such requests. 

Administrative Closing Summary

DSSRC acknowledged GelMoment’s effort to effectuate the discontinuance of the 16 social media posts at issue in this inquiry and determined the Company’s actions to be necessary and appropriate. GelMoment was successful in removing 13 of the 16 social media posts identified by DSSRC. DSSRC was also provided with written confirmation of the Company’s efforts to contact the individuals responsible for the posts to inform them of the unauthorized posts and request their removal, as well as Gel Moment’s reporting of the posts to Facebook.