A few years ago we all started to hear about Acai Berry this and Acai Berry that. I also receive many questions about Acai Berry on our Weight Loss Forum. First let me start with what an Acai Berry is. Acai is a type of palm tree found in Brazil. Acai does help in detoxifying the body with its antioxidant properties however it is no different than a Blue Berry or Strawberry. All berries have antioxidant properties.
The Acai craze was simply the work of some very smart marketing professionals. These marketing professionals simply took something as a berry found in a country outside of the United States and made it look like the best thing since sliced bread. These marketing professionals even generated a marketing campaign that included Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as users of Acai Berry. Once that marketing campaign went live, Acai sales skyrocketed.
Not only are the marketing tactics of Acai Berry unethical but their “Free Trial” practices and billing for these products are dangerous. Typically on these Acai Berry Free Trial ads that you find online, there is small print that states you will be billed on a continuous basis some amount of money like $19.99 or $29.99 to continue being enrolled in their “Acai Berry Membership Program”.
When shoppers purchase the product online they normally don’t read all the way through the terms of the purchase thus letting the advertiser of the product off the hook from anything misleading. What happens to the consumer is once they finally receive their credit card statement they find out that they had been either billed for additional items they did not want or after the first month they find out that they are being billed month after month for some subscription service.
I have made references to falling for misleading advertisements in other articles on LackFat.com. Always remember not to believe everything you hear and that Free or Free Trial is never really free. Use this advice wisely in all of your weight loss efforts and I promise you will be better protected in your personal battle of the bulge.
Joe Maresca
Health & Fitness Expert
Founder, Editor & Author @ LackFat.com
http://www.lackfat.com
I have to agree. I had a serious billing issue with an Acai product I was using. I think it is very important to beware of these Free Trial offers.
Frankly I think it is appauling to see companies that are using issues that people have as way to trick them into buying products. Especially these days. People aren’t buying consumer products as often as they use too. Misleading advertising could potentially become more widespread since consumer product sales are down.
Excellent post Joe. There aren’t any studies that validate acai berry with having weight loss properties. Then again none of these products are FDA approved.
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