What the Claims Really Mean
The food industry is always looking to provide the next so-called healthy snack. Maybe you have seen the ads for one called Bonny Squares. My friend Stephanie did and, knowing I am a health coach, she sent it to me to get my opinion. Naturally, once I clicked, it started following me around on social media too. Their tagline, “Pop and poop,” made me laugh and also made me curious. If a brand is bold enough to lead with bowel movements, I am at least willing to look closer. Of course, to give Stephanie, my clients, and my podcast listeners a real answer, I had to go beyond the marketing punchlines and see what is actually in these things.
The first place I went was their website, and I have to admit, their copywriter deserves a raise. The entire page sounds like it was written by someone who understands exactly how wellness-minded millennials and Gen X women talk about digestion. They lean into it with lines like “Why Bonny is the sh*t,” and describe their ingredients as contributing to “elite poops.” It is funny, disarming, and clearly designed to go viral. I felt seen, which is smart marketing, but clever language does not equal effective nutrition. So I kept going and opened the nutrition facts.
Each square has 70 calories, 1g of fat, 14g of carbohydrates including 2g of fiber and 8g of sugar, and 1g of protein. For a product that claims to give you “elite poops,” 2 grams of fiber felt underwhelming. Considering that a medium apple has about 4.5 grams of fiber without any packaging or taglines, it seemed odd to position this as a fiber solution. Anytime a product makes a strong claim but the label does not reflect that claim, my attention sharpens. So I scrolled to the ingredients list.
Bonny Squares are made of dried figs, flaxseed, brown rice syrup, dried apples, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, vegetable glycerin, and rhubarb root extract. Seeing figs and flaxseed makes sense because both are known to support digestion. Apple pectin is a prebiotic fiber, meaning it feeds healthy gut bacteria, not just bulks up stool. That part checks out. But without knowing the exact quantity of each ingredient, the effectiveness is impossible to gauge. Companies love to list trendy ingredients knowing consumers will associate them with benefits, even when the amount included is too small to do anything meaningful. With that in mind, I paid special attention to the rhubarb root extract because that is what their legal disclaimer focuses on.
Their instructions tell users to take one square with 8 ounces of water to help it move through the system and to not exceed two squares per day. They clearly state, “This product is not candy,” and warn that rhubarb may worsen diarrhea or abdominal pain. They also tell users to consult a healthcare provider if pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a health condition. It is not unusual for supplements to include disclaimers, but when a snack positions itself as “fun fiber” and then includes a warning that reads like a drug insert, those two messages do not sit well together. It reminded me immediately of the F-Factor controversy, which I covered in episode 57 of my podcast, “Another One Bites the Dust, The F-Factor.” In that case, consumers assumed a fiber product was harmless until people started reporting gastrointestinal distress. I could not help but see parallels.
I looked into the research on rhubarb root because, despite working in health and nutrition, I had only heard about it in relation to menopause symptoms, not digestion. The research is limited. One study on mice in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology noted that rhubarb contains anthraquinones, which have a laxative effect, and tannins, which have the opposite effect. The conclusion was that rhubarb should only be used short term for constipation. Memorial Sloan Kettering’s cancer care resources mention rhubarb as a potential laxative for treatment-induced constipation, but they also note the lack of direct clinical trials. I did find one human study in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences titled “Constipation Mitigation by Rhubarb Extract in Middle-Aged Adults Is Linked to Gut Microbiota Modulation.” It was a double-blind, placebo-controlled study and did show that rhubarb extract helped promote butyrate-producing bacteria in the gut, potentially improving elimination. But here is the catch: that study used a controlled dosage of rhubarb extract. Bonny uses rhubarb root powder, and we are never told how much of it is actually in each square.
This is exactly why transparency matters. If a product includes a potentially active ingredient strong enough to require a health warning, consumers deserve to know the dosage. This is especially true when the same product is marketed with humor and positioned as a simple fiber snack. To their credit, Bonny discloses more than a lot of wellness brands do, but their marketing creates an impression of safe, cheeky fun while their disclaimer suggests we should proceed carefully. Those two voices do not fully align.
There are elements of Bonny Squares that I genuinely appreciate. Reviews say they taste good, the ingredients are recognizable, and the branding is relatable instead of clinical or fear-based. I respect that they are not loading the product with unpronounceable additives or sugar alcohols that often lead to bloating and gas. But I am still not entirely sold. Personally, I do not love the idea of consuming a laxative-adjacent ingredient without clarity on dosing, especially when long-term digestive health has more to do with daily habits than one functional food.
When clients and friends ask me about products like these, I know my answer tends to disappoint. People want the magic square, the one thing they can add to make digestion easy and predictable. But here is the truth: if fiber is the goal, whole foods like vegetables, legumes, chia seeds, and yes, even prunes, will give you more fiber per serving with added micronutrients, hydration support, and no fine print. Bonny Squares might be a fun occasional option, but they are not a solution to America’s fiber problem. According to the USDA, most adults consume less than half the recommended daily intake of fiber. That is not going to be solved by a 2-gram square with a clever tagline.
Overall, I give Bonny credit for their branding, their disclaimers, and their attempt to make digestive health more approachable and less awkward. Humor can be a powerful tool to start conversations about topics people normally avoid. But marketing can only do so much. The real work of improved gut health still comes from consistent nutrition, hydration, movement, and stress management. So, while Bonny Squares might make some people go, they are not what will keep most people going long-term.