Kardashian gummy Katastrophe proves why you need consumer literacy
I have awakened from my slumber induced by dissertation work to write what has somehow become my second Kardashian story, in what no doubt will become a running series as the famous sisters get their famous behinds into whatever business they’ll run dodgy practices in next. Maybe they’ll get in on the mental health wave next, launching a Kardashian better-help type scenario where they gaslight you into thinking, “Yas, those butt-pads look so good on you babe!”
Maybe if you’ve been walking down the vitamin aisle at your local shop, you’ve noticed a pastel purple takeover delivering a cringey millennial-style slogan and a promise of some truly insane results in the form of lollipops and gummies. If so, you’ve stepped into the blindly optimistic (and opportunistic) world of Lemme. Now, you may be wondering why the late Motörhead member is selling vitamins, but I am here to inform you this is not the work of Lemmy Kilmister, but Kourtney Kardashian (aren’t they so alike?)
(Practically twins!)
If you tell me you don’t know who Kourtney Kardashian is, I’ll call your bluff. The Kardashians have been an inescapable force for years, and now, Kourtney is extending her reach to gummies that claim to ‘let you’ do nearly anything your heart desires. Claiming to have worked alongside scientists on developing these formulas, these gummies answer your everyday woes. When you say ‘Lemme Debloat,’ ‘Lemme Sleep,’ and ‘Lemme (um) Purr (?)’, Kourtney says “Lemme grab your money” with a 30-dollar gummy.
Things are not all well in the world of Lemme. Kourtney has ridden the high of the wellness craze and influencer buzz, raking in around ten million dollars. But this joyride has been met at the other end by a lawsuit from Zimmerman Reed, who claim she has “violated consumers’ rights by misleadingly and deceptively marketing its products.”
The lawsuits pertain to the following: ‘Lemme Purr,’ a vitamin that claims to support vaginal health and improve both taste and odour. ‘Lemme Curb,’ which apparently supports healthy blood sugar, ‘Lemme Debloat,’ claiming to relieve bloating symptoms, and ‘Lemme Matcha Gummies.’ If you thought I was done, there’s another lawsuit entirely against ‘Lemme GLP-1 Daily’, perhaps their most dangerous violation, as GLP-1 is found in Ozempic. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, Kourtney has managed to false-advertise people into thinking they are literally taking an Ozempic gummy. Slow claps.
In an age where brands can make any wild claims they want and expect to see profits rise, given the packaging is cute and Alix Earle is making a TikTok about it, questions arise. As I’m sure Kourt will mention in court, it’s difficult to map out where the line is between a lack of full disclosure in advertising and where the consumer should research before buying. There’s a bigger problem: a lack of consumer literacy when it comes to purchasing beauty products is a beast hoisted up by (frankly) lazy marketing that relies on buzzwords, gimmicks, and influencers to push products.
Lemme’s mission as a brand seems to be to hop on the current trend where the wellness and beauty industry have combined to create a rounded approach to looking beautiful. I always come back to this example: twenty years ago, the average beauty-conscious woman may have put on some basic skincare and eyeliner, but nowadays she wears full-body retinol and SPF, visits a red-light sauna, does microdermabrasion at home, uses a hair mask developed with the use of AI, and uses melatonin and magnesium to ensure her beauty sleep—which she gets while using a sleep-tracking app and wearing mouth tape.
Our modern approach to beauty, increasingly informed by science, is becoming deeply holistic—a whole lifestyle—which is where these two industries combine. With science at the heart of these practices, the potential for misinformation is high. And unfortunately, with sponsored social media influencers controlling what the beauty consumer desires and buys—on a platform where an in-app shop is right there—the research done into products is low. The influencer era has allowed brands to capitalise on the beauty industry’s biggest secret: advice and advertising are sold as the same thing. The secret ingredient in the special serum is a healthy dose of “we don’t want you to know.”
My two biggest passions are two oppositional superpowers: one comes in dismantling patriarchal systems and the other one is literally a patriarchal system. I love the beauty industry. Studying it, watching it, applying it, and seeing the joy it puts on people’s faces. However, we all know that it’s built its billions from sexism. It has, does, and unfortunately will continue to profit from creating a problem from something that shouldn’t be a problem—and then offering a solution that costs money. This hurts even more when it’s done by a brand with a female owner.
Take ‘Lemme Purr’, our most blatant culprit. Let’s look at some of the advertising:
“Give your vagina the sweet treat it deserves (and turn it into a sweet treat). You know what they say…you are what you eat”
– Lemme, Instagram.
The idea that your vagina should somehow taste like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory is not only absurd but blatantly misogynistic. What ‘Lemme Purr’ suggests is that your body part is no longer a body part, but something that’s consumable to men (not in that way!), that whatever is natural is not desirable, and needs to be fixed by buying into something. Any health professional will tell you that it’s not meant to smell like cupcakes—and that there’s probably something wrong going on down there if it does. Also, don’t ask me how I know, but balls don’t exactly smell like a walk through a field of flowers either, and yet we don’t see any products such as “Ball Bouquet.”
There somehow needs to be a fix to the growing problem of beauty illiteracy. The last thing we need is young people having serious health side effects from thinking they are taking GLP-1 in the form of a gummy bear. The candy coating of the products that stock our shelves and fill our For You pages is a systematic issue—one that will continue to get worse if people in the know don’t extend a hand to those who aren’t. There’s something so very ironic about a female-owned brand continuing this legacy, but unfortunately, the Kardashians continue not to be trailblazers, but hype-chasers.
Don’t take the things you’re putting in your body and on your skin lightly. At best, you’re wasting your money. At worst, you’re risking your health. In the future, let’s see more influencers educating followers about the theory, science, and tactics used by the beauty industry. Let’s create a better future for young people, even if it’s in something as small as the products they use to help them feel more confident.
Beauty may be pain, but don’t use Lemme to relieve it.
Drink some cranberry juice, go on a walk, and please research what you’re buying before dropping 30 dollars of your savings on a gummy.
Enjoyed my little rant? Lemme know what you think in the comments or by giving this a little like!
I’m also finally working on getting a YouTube channel sorted, where I can talk about the things I love while doing more editing, which I don’t love so much.
Okay, Bye!
– Gina 🙂
The Snob Blog 
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