One of the most popular creators in food TikTok is Bobby Parrish, popularly known as Flavcity. He gained one million followers on the platform by making healthy food recommendations from the grocery store. However, Flavcity has been accused of illegally recommending brands that allegedly paid him to without disclosing that information.
Fellow TikTokers called out Flavcity
A TikToker named theplantslant uploaded a video showing Flavcity using a product named Kiki Milk. Theplantslant showed that Flavcity’s love of the product is contradictory to his branding of being healthy and “Bobby approved.”
In some of the clips theplantslant compiled, Flavcity claimed that an added sugar of 5 g is too much for nut milk. However, the milk he’s recommending has added 4 g of sugar — a close metric to 5 g. Theplantslantshowed then showed a clip where Flavcity said he invested in the company.
At the end of the video, theplantslant said, “I have a new method to find out if something is Bobby approved, find out if he makes money off of it. If he does, then it is. If he doesn’t, then it’s probably not.”
@theplantslant Replying to @3chris187 basically pure contradictions 🫠 #flavcity #flavcityapproved #grifter #lol #almondmilk #sugar #contradiction ♬ original sound – Liam
Another TikToker named Rob Lapham, also known as “Health Viking,” also compiled clips of Flavcity. The clips show him recommending brands he’s partnered with and/or invested in. He also pointed out that Flavcity also has partnerships with stores where he films his videos. Lapham emphasized, “There’s an honest way of [making a living off health] where you are actively trying to help people, being transparent and always trying to learn and better the information that you have.”
@roblapham Flavcity is in the spotlight right now with all the stuff surfacing about his contradictory nature and now getting into undisclosed investments. Your health is a business by all means, personal trainers, dietitians, doctors, we all make a living off of your health. But there's an honest way of doing that where you are actively trying to help people, being transparent, and always trying to learn and better the information that you have. Also yes @theplantslant ♬ original sound – Rob Lapham
Potential breach of FTC’s endorsement guidelines
If these allegations are true, then Flavcity is breaching the Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement rules on endorsements for influencers and content creators. The guideline says a content creator needs to disclose verbally on video any endorsements they have. And that disclosure needs to be featured in the video uploaded.
FTC says, “If you endorse a product through social media, your endorsement message should make it obvious when you have a relationship (‘material connection‘) with the brand.”
Any financial relationship with brands in any form should be disclosed all the time. However, it seems like Flavcity is not disclosing that information in the videos that the two TikTokers pointed out. He has not addressed this issue despite comments flooding him in his newest video.