1011-00004 · Meridian Consumer Brands LLC · Pleadings

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

MERIDIAN CONSUMER BRANDS LLC,

Plaintiff,

APEX NATURALS INC.,

Defendant.

Case No. 25-cv-_ (S.D.N.Y.)

DECLARATION OF JULIA WHITMORE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

I, Julia Whitmore, hereby declare, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, under penalty of perjury, as follows:

I am over eighteen (18) years of age, of sound mind, and competent to testify to the matters set forth herein. Unless otherwise stated, the statements contained in this declaration are based on my personal knowledge, and if called as a witness, I could and would testify competently thereto. I submit this declaration in support of the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction filed by Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC ("Meridian" or "MCB") against Defendant Apex Naturals Inc. ("Apex") to halt the dissemination of false and misleading comparative advertising claims that have caused, and continue to cause, significant and irreparable harm to Meridian's business and the reputation of its flagship DermaTrūe product line.

I. BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS OF THE DECLARANT

1. My name is Julia Whitmore. I serve as Chief Marketing Officer ("CMO") of Meridian Consumer Brands LLC. Meridian's principal place of business and corporate headquarters is located at 410 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10001. I have held the position of CMO since March 2020, when I was recruited by CEO Nathan Hartwell to lead the transformation of Meridian's brand portfolio and go-to-market strategy. In my capacity as CMO, I report directly to Mr. Hartwell and serve as a member of Meridian's executive leadership team.

2. In my role as CMO, I am responsible for overseeing all marketing, brand strategy, advertising, consumer insights, and retail channel partnerships across Meridian's entire portfolio of premium skincare and personal-care brands. Specifically, I have direct responsibility for the brand positioning, marketing strategy, and commercial performance of Meridian's three principal product lines: DermaTrūe (acne treatment and blemish care), Velara (anti-aging), and SkinSense (sensitive-skin care). I also have direct oversight of Meridian's competitive intelligence function and market monitoring capabilities, through which my team and I regularly track and analyze the advertising, promotional activities, and market positioning of Meridian's competitors in the skincare and personal-care industry. In addition, I manage Meridian's relationships with its major retail partners, including Kingsley Drug Stores LLC ("Kingsley") and other national drugstore, department store, and specialty beauty retail chains through which Meridian's products are sold. In total, I manage a team of approximately 120 marketing, analytics, and brand-management professionals.

3. The statements in this declaration are based on my personal knowledge, which I have acquired through my role as CMO of Meridian over the past five years. I am intimately familiar with Meridian's financial performance data, internal sales reports, and marketing analytics, and I regularly review such data in the ordinary course of my duties. I have personally reviewed the advertising campaign at issue in this litigation — Apex's "The PuraClear Truth" campaign — and I have personally observed its dissemination across multiple media channels, including national television, digital and social media platforms, in-store point-of-sale displays, print publications, and the Apex corporate website. I have been directly and personally involved in Meridian's response to the significant competitive harm caused by this campaign, including communications with retail partners, the engagement of consumer-perception researchers, and the coordination with Meridian's legal and regulatory affairs teams to investigate and challenge the false claims contained in the campaign.

II. MERIDIAN CONSUMER BRANDS LLC — OVERVIEW

4. Meridian Consumer Brands LLC is a limited liability company duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and registered to do business in the State of New York. Meridian's principal place of business is located at 410 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10001. Meridian's registered agent for service of process in the State of New York is Capitol Filing Services Inc., located at 28 Liberty Street, Suite 4400, New York, New York 10005. Meridian's principal business is the development, formulation, marketing, and retail distribution of premium skincare, personal-care, and over-the-counter dermatological products intended for consumer use. Meridian was acquired in 2019 by Brindoval Capital Partners Fund IV LP, a private-equity sponsor, and has since undergone a significant period of brand investment and growth. The company is currently led by Chief Executive Officer Nathan Hartwell, who has served in that role since 2019.

5. Meridian is a recognized leader in the premium skincare category in the United States. For fiscal year 2024, Meridian reported annual revenue of $487.6 million, as reflected in audited financial statements prepared by the independent accounting firm of Ashford & Kline LLP. Meridian's product portfolio includes several well-known and well-established brands, the most significant of which are DermaTrūe (acne treatment and blemish care), Velara (anti-aging skincare), and SkinSense (skincare specifically formulated for sensitive skin). Meridian's products are sold through a diverse range of distribution channels, including major national retail drugstore chains, department stores, specialty beauty retailers, and direct-to-consumer and third-party e-commerce channels. Meridian's products are available in thousands of retail locations across all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

III. THE DERMATRŪE PRODUCT LINE

6. DermaTrūe is Meridian's flagship acne-treatment and blemish-care product family and is the single most important brand in Meridian's portfolio. The DermaTrūe line encompasses a comprehensive range of skincare products specifically formulated to address acne and blemish concerns, including cleansers, treatment gels, spot treatments, moisturizers, and complete regimen kits. The flagship product within the DermaTrūe line is the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System, a three-piece regimen kit designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive, step-by-step acne-treatment routine. The DermaTrūe Complete Acne System contains a 2.0 oz. cleanser, a 1.5 oz. treatment gel, and a 1.7 oz. moisturizer, for a total of 5.2 oz. of product. The manufacturer's suggested retail price of the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System is $28.99, which equates to a per-ounce price of approximately $5.57 ($28.99 ÷ 5.2 oz. = $5.57/oz.). This per-ounce pricing is a critical fact, as I will explain below in connection with Apex's false price-comparison claims.

7. The DermaTrūe product line is the single largest revenue-generating brand in Meridian's entire portfolio. For fiscal year 2024, the DermaTrūe line generated revenue of $138.2 million, representing approximately 28.3% of Meridian's total fiscal year 2024 revenue of $487.6 million ($138.2M ÷ $487.6M = 28.3%). The gross margin on DermaTrūe products is 62.5%, as reflected in Meridian's internal profit and loss statements, which I review on a regular basis in the ordinary course of my duties. The DermaTrūe line is, by any measure, the financial engine of Meridian's business, and its continued commercial success is essential to the company's overall financial health and strategic viability.

8. In 2024, Meridian undertook a significant reformulation and relaunch of its DermaTrūe product line under the sub-brand "DermaTrūe Pure." This reformulation was a major strategic initiative for the company, driven by evolving consumer preferences for "clean" and transparently formulated skincare products. The reformulated DermaTrūe Pure products are free of parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances — the very ingredients that Apex's advertising campaign falsely claims DermaTrūe contains. The paraben-free, sulfate-free, and synthetic-fragrance-free formulation of the DermaTrūe Pure products was independently confirmed by Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC, an accredited independent testing laboratory, in Lab Report No. BSL-2025-0412, dated March 15, 2025. A true and correct copy of this lab report is attached hereto as Exhibit F. The DermaTrūe Pure reformulation required a significant investment in research, development, formulation science, clinical testing, packaging redesign, and marketing. The reformulation process was overseen by Meridian's Vice President of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, Dr. Annika Patel, who worked closely with Meridian's product development team and external formulation partners to ensure that the new formulations maintained the clinical efficacy for which DermaTrūe has long been known, while eliminating the targeted ingredients from every product in the line.

9. DermaTrūe has built a strong and valuable brand reputation over many years as a premium, clinically supported acne-treatment line. Meridian has invested substantial resources — totaling tens of millions of dollars — in clinical testing, dermatologist endorsements, consumer education programs, digital marketing, and retail merchandising to build and maintain this brand reputation. The DermaTrūe brand's market position and consumer loyalty are built upon a foundation of consumer trust in product efficacy, ingredient quality, and value. This trust was painstakingly earned over years of consistent product performance, transparent marketing, and significant capital investment. It is precisely this trust — and the brand equity it represents — that Apex's false advertising campaign has targeted and damaged.

IV. APEX NATURALS INC. AND "THE PURACLEAR TRUTH" CAMPAIGN

10. Apex Naturals Inc. ("Apex") is, upon information and belief, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal place of business located at 75 Commerce Boulevard, Suite 300, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054. Apex is engaged in the sale and marketing of mass-market and "clean-beauty" skincare and acne-treatment products, which are distributed primarily through drugstore retail chains and e-commerce channels. Apex's key acne-treatment brand is PuraClear. The specific Apex product most frequently referenced in the advertising campaign at issue is PuraClear Spot Treatment, a single 1.0 oz. tube sold at a retail price of $12.99, which equates to a per-ounce price of $12.99 ($12.99 ÷ 1.0 oz. = $12.99/oz.). Upon information and belief, Apex's Chief Executive Officer and founder is Marcus Devlin, and its Chief Marketing Officer is Rachel Emory.

11. On or about June 2, 2025, Apex launched a nationwide comparative advertising campaign under the name "The PuraClear Truth." Upon information and belief, and based on competitive intelligence gathered by my team, this campaign is also referred to in industry reports — and was referred to internally at Apex — by the working title "Project Clarity." The campaign was created by Brightline Creative Partners LLC, an advertising agency headed by Chief Creative Officer Owen Prescott and based at 55 Washington Street, Suite 900, Brooklyn, New York 11201. "The PuraClear Truth" campaign was disseminated across a broad range of media channels, including: (a) national television, in the form of 30-second and 60-second advertising spots; (b) digital video, including advertisements on Crowne Albany Partners LLC, Dunmore & Co., and Northpoint Services Inc. Reels; (c) in-store point-of-sale displays at major national drugstore chains; (d) print advertisements in widely circulated consumer magazines; and (e) a dedicated campaign landing page on the Apex corporate website, accessible at the URL www.apexnaturals.com/puraclear-truth. I personally observed the campaign across multiple media channels beginning in early June 2025, and I have continued to observe its ongoing dissemination through the date of this declaration.

12. Based on industry media-spend tracking data from third-party research services and competitive intelligence analysis that is available to me in my capacity as CMO — tools and data sources that I and my team regularly use in the ordinary course of business to monitor competitive advertising activity — I estimate that Apex's spending on "The PuraClear Truth" campaign during the period from June through August 2025 was as follows:

(a) Estimated television advertising spend (June–August 2025): approximately $14.3 million;

(b) Estimated digital and social media advertising spend (June–August 2025): approximately $8.7 million; and

The scale and magnitude of this spending reflects an aggressive, sustained, national-level campaign designed to reach a mass consumer audience and to inflict maximum competitive damage on Meridian's DermaTrūe brand. A $23.0 million media expenditure over a three-month period is an extraordinarily large investment for a comparative advertising campaign in the skincare category and underscores the deliberate and calculated nature of Apex's attack on DermaTrūe's market position.

13. The first and most damaging false claim in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign is a claim of clinical superiority. The campaign prominently features the following statement, displayed in large text and voiced in both the television and digital video advertisements: "In a controlled clinical study, PuraClear reduced visible acne blemishes 47% faster than the leading DermaTrūe treatment." The advertisements cite, as the ostensible source for this claim, "Guerrero et al., 2024, Independent Dermatological Review." This citation is designed to convey to consumers the impression that the claim is supported by a rigorous, peer-reviewed clinical study published in an independent scientific journal. Based on a thorough investigation conducted by Meridian's regulatory and scientific affairs team, led by Dr. Annika Patel, Vice President of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, no such study has been published in any peer-reviewed dermatological or scientific journal. Furthermore, no publication titled Independent Dermatological Review appears in any recognized dermatological or scientific database, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, or the Directory of Open Access Journals. Upon information and belief, the only testing conducted by Apex in support of this claim was a non-blinded, 22-person pilot study with no control group, no randomization, and no independent oversight — a study design that is wholly insufficient, by any recognized scientific or regulatory standard, to support the broad comparative efficacy claim made in the advertising. Moreover, the name "Guerrero" in the cited study corresponds to Dr. Simon Guerrero, who is, upon information and belief, Apex's own Vice President of Product Development, making the campaign's representation that this was an "independent" study fundamentally misleading. True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing this clinical superiority claim are attached hereto as Exhibit A.

14. The second false claim in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign is a price-comparison claim. The campaign states, in both the television and digital advertisements and in in-store point-of-sale materials: "PuraClear delivers premium results at half the price — just $12.99 vs. $28.99 for a comparable DermaTrūe kit." This comparison is materially misleading because it compares products of vastly different sizes, compositions, and intended uses:

(a) The PuraClear product referenced in the advertisement at the $12.99 price point is PuraClear Spot Treatment, a single 1.0 oz. tube designed for targeted application on individual blemishes.

(b) The DermaTrūe product referenced in the advertisement at the $28.99 price point is the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System, a three-piece comprehensive regimen kit containing a total of 5.2 oz. of product (specifically, a 2.0 oz. cleanser, a 1.5 oz. treatment gel, and a 1.7 oz. moisturizer).

On a per-ounce basis — the standard and accepted measure for comparing the relative cost of skincare and personal-care products of different sizes — the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System costs $5.57 per ounce ($28.99 ÷ 5.2 oz.), while PuraClear Spot Treatment costs $12.99 per ounce ($12.99 ÷ 1.0 oz.). PuraClear Spot Treatment is thus more than double the price of DermaTrūe Complete Acne System on a per-ounce basis — the exact opposite of what the advertisement claims. The advertisement does not disclose the sizes of the products being compared and uses the word "comparable" to suggest a functional equivalence between a single-product tube and a comprehensive multi-step regimen kit, when the two products are fundamentally different in scope, size, and intended use. This comparison is designed to mislead consumers into believing that DermaTrūe products are overpriced relative to PuraClear products, when the truth is precisely the opposite. True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing this price-comparison claim are attached hereto as Exhibit B.

15. The third false claim in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign relates to product ingredients. The campaign states: "Unlike DermaTrūe, PuraClear is 100% free of parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances." This claim is false. As set forth above in Paragraph 8, Meridian reformulated and relaunched its DermaTrūe product line in 2024 under the "DermaTrūe Pure" sub-brand, and the reformulated products are free of parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. This has been independently confirmed by Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC in Lab Report No. BSL-2025-0412, dated March 15, 2025 (attached hereto as Exhibit F). The DermaTrūe Pure products are the current products available at retail and have been since the reformulation was completed and the products were shipped to retail channels in late 2024. The advertisement's use of the word "Unlike" followed by "DermaTrūe" falsely implies that DermaTrūe products currently contain parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances, when in fact the current product line does not. This claim is designed to mislead consumers who are seeking "clean" skincare formulations into believing that DermaTrūe is not a suitable choice, when in fact the DermaTrūe Pure formulation meets and exceeds the same "clean" ingredient standards that PuraClear claims to satisfy. True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing this "clean" ingredients claim are attached hereto as Exhibit C.

V. FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL HARM TO MERIDIAN

16. Following the launch of "The PuraClear Truth" campaign on or about June 2, 2025, DermaTrūe sales have declined sharply and materially. DermaTrūe revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 (the baseline comparison period, prior to the campaign) was $36.8 million. DermaTrūe revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 (the post-campaign period) was $29.4 million. This represents a revenue decline of $7.4 million ($36.8M − $29.4M), or a year-over-year decline of 20.1% ($7.4M ÷ $36.8M = 20.1%). This decline is directly attributable to the false advertising campaign. Based on my extensive experience in the consumer products industry, my detailed knowledge of Meridian's business, and the analysis conducted by my team, there have been no other material market changes, product issues, supply-chain disruptions, regulatory events, or competitive developments during this period that would explain the magnitude of this revenue decline. The decline began in earnest in the weeks immediately following the campaign's launch in early June 2025 and has persisted and deepened throughout the third quarter. True and correct copies of the internal Meridian sales reports reflecting DermaTrūe revenue for Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 are attached hereto as Exhibit E.

17. The financial impact of the revenue decline is severe. At the DermaTrūe line's gross margin of 62.5%, the $7.4 million revenue decline in Q3 2025 translates to an estimated $4.625 million in lost gross profit for the quarter alone ($7.4M × 62.5% = $4.625M). If the campaign continues unchecked and the current rate of revenue decline persists, the annualized lost-profit impact is estimated at approximately $18.5 million ($4.625M × 4 quarters). I note that these figures are preliminary and conservative estimates. They do not account for the long-term erosion of brand equity, the compounding effect of customer defection to competitor products, the cost of potential corrective advertising, or the further downstream revenue impact of reduced retail shelf space and distribution — all of which will amplify the total financial harm substantially over time.

18. On August 5, 2025, Kingsley Drug Stores LLC ("Kingsley"), one of Meridian's most important retail partners and a major national retail drugstore chain operating more than 2,400 stores across the United States, notified Meridian in writing that it was reducing DermaTrūe's allocated shelf space by 30%, effective October 1, 2025. In its notification letter, Kingsley cited "declining consumer demand" as the basis for the shelf-space reduction. I was personally involved in communications with Kingsley regarding this decision, including a telephone call with Kingsley's Senior Vice President of Merchandising, in which the declining sales trajectory of DermaTrūe products was specifically discussed in the context of the competitive pressures created by the Apex campaign. Meridian's sales team has estimated the annual revenue impact of the Kingsley shelf-space reduction at approximately $4.1 million based on historical sales data for DermaTrūe products in Kingsley stores and the proportional reduction in shelf presence. A true and correct copy of the Kingsley notification letter dated August 5, 2025 is attached hereto as Exhibit D. The Kingsley decision is, in my professional judgment, a direct consequence of the consumer confusion and demand erosion caused by Apex's false advertising campaign. Shelf-space reductions of this nature are extremely difficult to reverse in the retail industry. Once a national retailer reduces a brand's physical shelf presence, regaining that shelf space typically requires years of sustained effort, significant promotional investment, and favorable market conditions — none of which can be assured.

19. Beyond the Kingsley reduction, I am aware, based on communications between Meridian's sales team and our other retail partners, that additional retail partners have expressed concern about DermaTrūe's competitive positioning in light of the Apex campaign. While I cannot disclose the details of confidential commercial discussions with these partners in a public filing, I believe, based on my experience and the information available to me, that the Kingsley shelf-space reduction is a harbinger of similar actions by other retail chains if the Apex campaign is not promptly enjoined. Reduced shelf space leads to reduced consumer visibility for the affected brand, which in turn drives further sales declines, which in turn lead to further shelf-space reductions — creating a self-reinforcing downward cycle of commercial harm that becomes increasingly difficult to arrest and reverse with each passing week.

VI. BRAND-PERCEPTION DAMAGE

20. In order to assess the impact of "The PuraClear Truth" campaign on consumer perceptions of the DermaTrūe brand, Meridian retained Dr. Eleanor Fisk of Fisk Analytics Group LLC, a highly regarded consumer research and survey methodology firm, to design and conduct consumer-perception surveys. Dr. Fisk conducted a baseline survey in January 2025, well before the launch of the Apex campaign, to establish a pre-campaign benchmark of consumer attitudes toward the DermaTrūe brand. Following the launch of the campaign, Dr. Fisk conducted a follow-up survey, which was fielded on August 22, 2025. The follow-up survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults, with a margin of error of ±2.5%. The results of the post-campaign survey, compared to the January 2025 baseline, demonstrate significant and alarming deterioration in consumer perceptions of the DermaTrūe brand:

(a) 34% of respondents who recalled exposure to PuraClear advertisements believed that DermaTrūe products were "overpriced" — up from 11% in the January 2025 baseline survey. This represents a more-than-threefold increase in the proportion of consumers who perceive DermaTrūe as overpriced, directly corresponding to the false price-comparison claim disseminated in the campaign.

(b) 27% of respondents who recalled exposure to PuraClear advertisements believed that DermaTrūe was "less effective than PuraClear" — up from 8% in the January 2025 baseline survey. This also represents a more-than-threefold increase, directly corresponding to the false clinical superiority claim disseminated in the campaign.

These results demonstrate significant, measurable, and quantifiable damage to the DermaTrūe brand's long-standing reputation for both value and clinical efficacy. Dr. Fisk's detailed methodology and complete findings are set forth in her separate declaration filed concurrently herewith.

21. Brand perception and consumer trust are intangible assets that are built over years, and sometimes decades, of sustained investment, consistent product performance, and transparent communication with consumers. The damage inflicted by false comparative advertising of this nature and scale cannot be fully remedied by an award of monetary damages alone. Once consumers form negative impressions about a brand's value proposition or product efficacy — particularly impressions driven by what appears to be clinical evidence and objective price data — those impressions are extremely difficult and costly to reverse. Corrective advertising, even if undertaken on a massive scale, produces uncertain results and cannot undo the damage to consumer trust that has already occurred. The consumers who have already been exposed to the false claims and have formed negative impressions of DermaTrūe may never be reached by corrective messaging, and those who are reached may not change their newly formed beliefs. Moreover, the ongoing nature of the campaign means that new consumers are being exposed to the false claims every day, and the harm is compounding on a daily basis. For all of these reasons, the harm to Meridian's brand equity and consumer goodwill is irreparable in nature and cannot be adequately compensated through monetary damages alone.

VII. PRE-LITIGATION EFFORTS TO RESOLVE THE DISPUTE

22. On June 18, 2025, approximately two weeks after the campaign launched, Meridian's General Counsel, Derek Cho, sent a detailed cease-and-desist letter to Apex's General Counsel, Tanya Fischetti, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all "The PuraClear Truth" advertisements from every media channel and a public retraction of the false claims contained therein. The letter identified each of the three false claims set forth above, explained why each claim was false or materially misleading, and demanded that Apex take corrective action within ten (10) business days. Apex did not comply with the demand and did not withdraw or modify any aspect of the campaign.

23. On July 3, 2025, Apex responded to the cease-and-desist letter through its outside counsel, Harrison Briggs of the firm Caldwell, Briggs & Nolan LLP, located at 200 Park Avenue, 42nd Floor, New York, New York 10166. In its response, Apex, through Mr. Briggs, denied all allegations of false or misleading advertising and asserted that all claims made in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign were truthful and adequately substantiated. Apex refused to withdraw or modify the campaign in any respect and gave no indication that it intended to take any corrective action whatsoever.

24. Having been unable to resolve the dispute through direct communication with Apex, Meridian pursued the matter through industry self-regulatory channels. On July 22, 2025, Meridian filed a formal complaint with the National Advertising Division ("NAD") of the Better Business Bureau, which was assigned Case Reference No. NAD-2025-01847. The complaint challenged each of the three false claims identified in this declaration. On August 15, 2025, NAD issued a preliminary recommendation that Apex discontinue or modify the clinical superiority claim and the price-comparison claim pending further substantiation. Despite this recommendation from the preeminent industry self-regulatory body for advertising disputes, Apex publicly stated that it would appeal the NAD recommendation and declined to modify the campaign in any respect. The campaign has continued to run across all media channels — television, digital, social media, in-store, print, and online — without any modification whatsoever since the date of NAD's recommendation.

25. Having exhausted its pre-litigation remedies and faced with Apex's categorical refusal to cease its false advertising, Meridian retained Calderwood & Harkness LLP on September 8, 2025, to initiate litigation to protect its rights and to seek injunctive relief from this Court.

VIII. ONGOING AND ESCALATING HARM

26. As of the date of this declaration, Apex continues to actively disseminate "The PuraClear Truth" campaign across all of the media channels identified above, including national television, digital video platforms, social media, in-store point-of-sale displays at major retail chains, consumer print publications, and the dedicated campaign page on the Apex corporate website. The campaign has been running continuously for approximately four months since its launch on or about June 2, 2025, and it shows no signs of abating. To the contrary, based on competitive media monitoring conducted by my team, the campaign appears to have maintained or even increased its media weight in certain digital and social media channels during the month of September 2025. Each additional day that the campaign runs inflicts further and compounding harm on the DermaTrūe brand and on Meridian's business.

27. Without injunctive relief from this Court, Meridian will continue to suffer irreparable harm that cannot be fully compensated by an award of monetary damages. This harm includes, but is not limited to: (a) further declines in DermaTrūe revenue and gross profit; (b) additional retail shelf-space reductions by Kingsley and other national retail partners; (c) continued erosion of consumer trust in, and perception of, the DermaTrūe brand's value, efficacy, and ingredient quality; (d) loss of market share to Apex and potentially to other competitors who benefit from DermaTrūe's weakened competitive position; and (e) long-term damage to brand equity that will require years and millions of dollars to repair, with no guarantee of full recovery. The harm is ongoing, escalating, and will become increasingly difficult — and ultimately impossible — to reverse with each passing day that the false advertising continues to reach consumers.

IX. IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION OF EXHIBITS

28. The following exhibits are attached to this declaration:

Exhibit A: True and correct copies of exemplar "The PuraClear Truth" campaign materials containing the clinical superiority claim, including screenshots of television advertisements, digital video advertisements, and the campaign webpage located at www.apexnaturals.com/puraclear-truth.

Exhibit B: True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing the price-comparison claim, including screenshots of television advertisements and in-store point-of-sale displays.

Exhibit C: True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing the "clean" ingredients claim, including screenshots of digital advertisements and print advertisements.

Exhibit D: True and correct copy of the letter from Kingsley Drug Stores LLC dated August 5, 2025, notifying Meridian of the 30% reduction in DermaTrūe shelf space effective October 1, 2025.

Exhibit E: True and correct copies of internal Meridian sales reports reflecting DermaTrūe revenue for Q3 2024 ($36.8 million) and Q3 2025 ($29.4 million).

Exhibit F: True and correct copy of Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC Lab Report No. BSL-2025-0412, dated March 15, 2025, confirming the DermaTrūe Pure ingredient profile (paraben-free, sulfate-free, synthetic-fragrance-free).

29. I have personal knowledge of each of the exhibits identified above, and I can attest to their authenticity. Exhibits A through C consist of screenshots and printouts of Apex's advertising materials that were captured and preserved by Meridian's marketing team under my direction in the ordinary course of Meridian's competitive monitoring activities. Exhibit D is a letter that was received by Meridian from Kingsley Drug Stores LLC and is maintained in the ordinary course of Meridian's business in Meridian's commercial records. Exhibit E consists of internal financial reports that were prepared by Meridian's finance department in the ordinary course of Meridian's business and that I regularly review in my capacity as CMO. Exhibit F is a laboratory report that was received by Meridian from Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC upon completion of the independent testing engagement that Meridian commissioned in connection with the DermaTrūe Pure reformulation.

X. CONCLUSION AND DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY

30. The false and misleading claims contained in Apex's "The PuraClear Truth" campaign have caused, and continue to cause, significant, measurable, and irreparable harm to Meridian's DermaTrūe brand and to Meridian's business. This harm includes, without limitation: (a) a $7.4 million decline in DermaTrūe revenue in Q3 2025, representing a 20.1% year-over-year decrease; (b) estimated lost gross profits of $4.625 million for Q3 2025 alone, with an annualized estimated impact of approximately $18.5 million; (c) the Kingsley Drug Stores shelf-space reduction of 30%, with an estimated annual revenue impact of $4.1 million; and (d) severe and measurable damage to consumer perceptions of DermaTrūe's value and efficacy, as demonstrated by the consumer-perception surveys conducted by Dr. Eleanor Fisk. Each of these categories of harm is ongoing and escalating, and none can be fully remedied by an award of monetary damages.

For all of the foregoing reasons, I respectfully request that the Court grant Meridian Consumer Brands LLC's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and order Apex Naturals Inc. to immediately halt the dissemination of "The PuraClear Truth" advertising campaign across all media channels.

31. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on September 22, 2025, at New York, New York.

________________________________________

Julia Whitmore Chief Marketing Officer Meridian Consumer Brands LLC

ATTORNEY CERTIFICATION

The undersigned attorneys for Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC hereby certify that the foregoing Declaration of Julia Whitmore was prepared with the assistance of counsel and is submitted in support of Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP

By: ________

Linda Osei, Partner Patrick Gallagher, Associate

600 Lexington Avenue, 30th Floor New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (212) 555-4800 Facsimile: (212) 555-4801

Attorneys for Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC Matter No. 1011-00004

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
MERIDIAN CONSUMER BRANDS LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
APEX NATURALS INC.,
Defendant.
Case No. 25-cv-_ (S.D.N.Y.)
DECLARATION OF JULIA WHITMORE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
I, Julia Whitmore, hereby declare, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, under penalty of perjury, as follows:
I am over eighteen (18) years of age, of sound mind, and competent to testify to the matters set forth herein. Unless otherwise stated, the statements contained in this declaration are based on my personal knowledge, and if called as a witness, I could and would testify competently thereto. I submit this declaration in support of the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction filed by Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC ("Meridian" or "MCB") against Defendant Apex Naturals Inc. ("Apex") to halt the dissemination of false and misleading comparative advertising claims that have caused, and continue to cause, significant and irreparable harm to Meridian's business and the reputation of its flagship DermaTrūe product line.
I. BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS OF THE DECLARANT
1. My name is Julia Whitmore. I serve as Chief Marketing Officer ("CMO") of Meridian Consumer Brands LLC. Meridian's principal place of business and corporate headquarters is located at 410 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10001. I have held the position of CMO since March 2020, when I was recruited by CEO Nathan Hartwell to lead the transformation of Meridian's brand portfolio and go-to-market strategy. In my capacity as CMO, I report directly to Mr. Hartwell and serve as a member of Meridian's executive leadership team.
2. In my role as CMO, I am responsible for overseeing all marketing, brand strategy, advertising, consumer insights, and retail channel partnerships across Meridian's entire portfolio of premium skincare and personal-care brands. Specifically, I have direct responsibility for the brand positioning, marketing strategy, and commercial performance of Meridian's three principal product lines: DermaTrūe (acne treatment and blemish care), Velara (anti-aging), and SkinSense (sensitive-skin care). I also have direct oversight of Meridian's competitive intelligence function and market monitoring capabilities, through which my team and I regularly track and analyze the advertising, promotional activities, and market positioning of Meridian's competitors in the skincare and personal-care industry. In addition, I manage Meridian's relationships with its major retail partners, including Kingsley Drug Stores LLC ("Kingsley") and other national drugstore, department store, and specialty beauty retail chains through which Meridian's products are sold. In total, I manage a team of approximately 120 marketing, analytics, and brand-management professionals.
3. The statements in this declaration are based on my personal knowledge, which I have acquired through my role as CMO of Meridian over the past five years. I am intimately familiar with Meridian's financial performance data, internal sales reports, and marketing analytics, and I regularly review such data in the ordinary course of my duties. I have personally reviewed the advertising campaign at issue in this litigation — Apex's "The PuraClear Truth" campaign — and I have personally observed its dissemination across multiple media channels, including national television, digital and social media platforms, in-store point-of-sale displays, print publications, and the Apex corporate website. I have been directly and personally involved in Meridian's response to the significant competitive harm caused by this campaign, including communications with retail partners, the engagement of consumer-perception researchers, and the coordination with Meridian's legal and regulatory affairs teams to investigate and challenge the false claims contained in the campaign.
II. MERIDIAN CONSUMER BRANDS LLC — OVERVIEW
4. Meridian Consumer Brands LLC is a limited liability company duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and registered to do business in the State of New York. Meridian's principal place of business is located at 410 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10001. Meridian's registered agent for service of process in the State of New York is Capitol Filing Services Inc., located at 28 Liberty Street, Suite 4400, New York, New York 10005. Meridian's principal business is the development, formulation, marketing, and retail distribution of premium skincare, personal-care, and over-the-counter dermatological products intended for consumer use. Meridian was acquired in 2019 by Brindoval Capital Partners Fund IV LP, a private-equity sponsor, and has since undergone a significant period of brand investment and growth. The company is currently led by Chief Executive Officer Nathan Hartwell, who has served in that role since 2019.
5. Meridian is a recognized leader in the premium skincare category in the United States. For fiscal year 2024, Meridian reported annual revenue of $487.6 million, as reflected in audited financial statements prepared by the independent accounting firm of Ashford & Kline LLP. Meridian's product portfolio includes several well-known and well-established brands, the most significant of which are DermaTrūe (acne treatment and blemish care), Velara (anti-aging skincare), and SkinSense (skincare specifically formulated for sensitive skin). Meridian's products are sold through a diverse range of distribution channels, including major national retail drugstore chains, department stores, specialty beauty retailers, and direct-to-consumer and third-party e-commerce channels. Meridian's products are available in thousands of retail locations across all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
III. THE DERMATRŪE PRODUCT LINE
6. DermaTrūe is Meridian's flagship acne-treatment and blemish-care product family and is the single most important brand in Meridian's portfolio. The DermaTrūe line encompasses a comprehensive range of skincare products specifically formulated to address acne and blemish concerns, including cleansers, treatment gels, spot treatments, moisturizers, and complete regimen kits. The flagship product within the DermaTrūe line is the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System, a three-piece regimen kit designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive, step-by-step acne-treatment routine. The DermaTrūe Complete Acne System contains a 2.0 oz. cleanser, a 1.5 oz. treatment gel, and a 1.7 oz. moisturizer, for a total of 5.2 oz. of product. The manufacturer's suggested retail price of the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System is $28.99, which equates to a per-ounce price of approximately $5.57 ($28.99 ÷ 5.2 oz. = $5.57/oz.). This per-ounce pricing is a critical fact, as I will explain below in connection with Apex's false price-comparison claims.
7. The DermaTrūe product line is the single largest revenue-generating brand in Meridian's entire portfolio. For fiscal year 2024, the DermaTrūe line generated revenue of $138.2 million, representing approximately 28.3% of Meridian's total fiscal year 2024 revenue of $487.6 million ($138.2M ÷ $487.6M = 28.3%). The gross margin on DermaTrūe products is 62.5%, as reflected in Meridian's internal profit and loss statements, which I review on a regular basis in the ordinary course of my duties. The DermaTrūe line is, by any measure, the financial engine of Meridian's business, and its continued commercial success is essential to the company's overall financial health and strategic viability.
8. In 2024, Meridian undertook a significant reformulation and relaunch of its DermaTrūe product line under the sub-brand "DermaTrūe Pure." This reformulation was a major strategic initiative for the company, driven by evolving consumer preferences for "clean" and transparently formulated skincare products. The reformulated DermaTrūe Pure products are free of parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances — the very ingredients that Apex's advertising campaign falsely claims DermaTrūe contains. The paraben-free, sulfate-free, and synthetic-fragrance-free formulation of the DermaTrūe Pure products was independently confirmed by Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC, an accredited independent testing laboratory, in Lab Report No. BSL-2025-0412, dated March 15, 2025. A true and correct copy of this lab report is attached hereto as Exhibit F. The DermaTrūe Pure reformulation required a significant investment in research, development, formulation science, clinical testing, packaging redesign, and marketing. The reformulation process was overseen by Meridian's Vice President of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, Dr. Annika Patel, who worked closely with Meridian's product development team and external formulation partners to ensure that the new formulations maintained the clinical efficacy for which DermaTrūe has long been known, while eliminating the targeted ingredients from every product in the line.
9. DermaTrūe has built a strong and valuable brand reputation over many years as a premium, clinically supported acne-treatment line. Meridian has invested substantial resources — totaling tens of millions of dollars — in clinical testing, dermatologist endorsements, consumer education programs, digital marketing, and retail merchandising to build and maintain this brand reputation. The DermaTrūe brand's market position and consumer loyalty are built upon a foundation of consumer trust in product efficacy, ingredient quality, and value. This trust was painstakingly earned over years of consistent product performance, transparent marketing, and significant capital investment. It is precisely this trust — and the brand equity it represents — that Apex's false advertising campaign has targeted and damaged.
IV. APEX NATURALS INC. AND "THE PURACLEAR TRUTH" CAMPAIGN
10. Apex Naturals Inc. ("Apex") is, upon information and belief, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal place of business located at 75 Commerce Boulevard, Suite 300, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054. Apex is engaged in the sale and marketing of mass-market and "clean-beauty" skincare and acne-treatment products, which are distributed primarily through drugstore retail chains and e-commerce channels. Apex's key acne-treatment brand is PuraClear. The specific Apex product most frequently referenced in the advertising campaign at issue is PuraClear Spot Treatment, a single 1.0 oz. tube sold at a retail price of $12.99, which equates to a per-ounce price of $12.99 ($12.99 ÷ 1.0 oz. = $12.99/oz.). Upon information and belief, Apex's Chief Executive Officer and founder is Marcus Devlin, and its Chief Marketing Officer is Rachel Emory.
11. On or about June 2, 2025, Apex launched a nationwide comparative advertising campaign under the name "The PuraClear Truth." Upon information and belief, and based on competitive intelligence gathered by my team, this campaign is also referred to in industry reports — and was referred to internally at Apex — by the working title "Project Clarity." The campaign was created by Brightline Creative Partners LLC, an advertising agency headed by Chief Creative Officer Owen Prescott and based at 55 Washington Street, Suite 900, Brooklyn, New York 11201. "The PuraClear Truth" campaign was disseminated across a broad range of media channels, including: (a) national television, in the form of 30-second and 60-second advertising spots; (b) digital video, including advertisements on Crowne Albany Partners LLC, Dunmore & Co., and Northpoint Services Inc. Reels; (c) in-store point-of-sale displays at major national drugstore chains; (d) print advertisements in widely circulated consumer magazines; and (e) a dedicated campaign landing page on the Apex corporate website, accessible at the URL www.apexnaturals.com/puraclear-truth. I personally observed the campaign across multiple media channels beginning in early June 2025, and I have continued to observe its ongoing dissemination through the date of this declaration.
12. Based on industry media-spend tracking data from third-party research services and competitive intelligence analysis that is available to me in my capacity as CMO — tools and data sources that I and my team regularly use in the ordinary course of business to monitor competitive advertising activity — I estimate that Apex's spending on "The PuraClear Truth" campaign during the period from June through August 2025 was as follows:
(a) Estimated television advertising spend (June–August 2025): approximately $14.3 million;
(b) Estimated digital and social media advertising spend (June–August 2025): approximately $8.7 million; and
(c) Total estimated campaign spend (June–August 2025): approximately $23.0 million.
The scale and magnitude of this spending reflects an aggressive, sustained, national-level campaign designed to reach a mass consumer audience and to inflict maximum competitive damage on Meridian's DermaTrūe brand. A $23.0 million media expenditure over a three-month period is an extraordinarily large investment for a comparative advertising campaign in the skincare category and underscores the deliberate and calculated nature of Apex's attack on DermaTrūe's market position.
13. The first and most damaging false claim in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign is a claim of clinical superiority. The campaign prominently features the following statement, displayed in large text and voiced in both the television and digital video advertisements: "In a controlled clinical study, PuraClear reduced visible acne blemishes 47% faster than the leading DermaTrūe treatment." The advertisements cite, as the ostensible source for this claim, "Guerrero et al., 2024, Independent Dermatological Review." This citation is designed to convey to consumers the impression that the claim is supported by a rigorous, peer-reviewed clinical study published in an independent scientific journal. Based on a thorough investigation conducted by Meridian's regulatory and scientific affairs team, led by Dr. Annika Patel, Vice President of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, no such study has been published in any peer-reviewed dermatological or scientific journal. Furthermore, no publication titled Independent Dermatological Review appears in any recognized dermatological or scientific database, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, or the Directory of Open Access Journals. Upon information and belief, the only testing conducted by Apex in support of this claim was a non-blinded, 22-person pilot study with no control group, no randomization, and no independent oversight — a study design that is wholly insufficient, by any recognized scientific or regulatory standard, to support the broad comparative efficacy claim made in the advertising. Moreover, the name "Guerrero" in the cited study corresponds to Dr. Simon Guerrero, who is, upon information and belief, Apex's own Vice President of Product Development, making the campaign's representation that this was an "independent" study fundamentally misleading. True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing this clinical superiority claim are attached hereto as Exhibit A.
14. The second false claim in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign is a price-comparison claim. The campaign states, in both the television and digital advertisements and in in-store point-of-sale materials: "PuraClear delivers premium results at half the price — just $12.99 vs. $28.99 for a comparable DermaTrūe kit." This comparison is materially misleading because it compares products of vastly different sizes, compositions, and intended uses:
(a) The PuraClear product referenced in the advertisement at the $12.99 price point is PuraClear Spot Treatment, a single 1.0 oz. tube designed for targeted application on individual blemishes.
(b) The DermaTrūe product referenced in the advertisement at the $28.99 price point is the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System, a three-piece comprehensive regimen kit containing a total of 5.2 oz. of product (specifically, a 2.0 oz. cleanser, a 1.5 oz. treatment gel, and a 1.7 oz. moisturizer).
On a per-ounce basis — the standard and accepted measure for comparing the relative cost of skincare and personal-care products of different sizes — the DermaTrūe Complete Acne System costs $5.57 per ounce ($28.99 ÷ 5.2 oz.), while PuraClear Spot Treatment costs $12.99 per ounce ($12.99 ÷ 1.0 oz.). PuraClear Spot Treatment is thus more than double the price of DermaTrūe Complete Acne System on a per-ounce basis — the exact opposite of what the advertisement claims. The advertisement does not disclose the sizes of the products being compared and uses the word "comparable" to suggest a functional equivalence between a single-product tube and a comprehensive multi-step regimen kit, when the two products are fundamentally different in scope, size, and intended use. This comparison is designed to mislead consumers into believing that DermaTrūe products are overpriced relative to PuraClear products, when the truth is precisely the opposite. True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing this price-comparison claim are attached hereto as Exhibit B.
15. The third false claim in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign relates to product ingredients. The campaign states: "Unlike DermaTrūe, PuraClear is 100% free of parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances." This claim is false. As set forth above in Paragraph 8, Meridian reformulated and relaunched its DermaTrūe product line in 2024 under the "DermaTrūe Pure" sub-brand, and the reformulated products are free of parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. This has been independently confirmed by Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC in Lab Report No. BSL-2025-0412, dated March 15, 2025 (attached hereto as Exhibit F). The DermaTrūe Pure products are the current products available at retail and have been since the reformulation was completed and the products were shipped to retail channels in late 2024. The advertisement's use of the word "Unlike" followed by "DermaTrūe" falsely implies that DermaTrūe products currently contain parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances, when in fact the current product line does not. This claim is designed to mislead consumers who are seeking "clean" skincare formulations into believing that DermaTrūe is not a suitable choice, when in fact the DermaTrūe Pure formulation meets and exceeds the same "clean" ingredient standards that PuraClear claims to satisfy. True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing this "clean" ingredients claim are attached hereto as Exhibit C.
V. FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL HARM TO MERIDIAN
16. Following the launch of "The PuraClear Truth" campaign on or about June 2, 2025, DermaTrūe sales have declined sharply and materially. DermaTrūe revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 (the baseline comparison period, prior to the campaign) was $36.8 million. DermaTrūe revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 (the post-campaign period) was $29.4 million. This represents a revenue decline of $7.4 million ($36.8M − $29.4M), or a year-over-year decline of 20.1% ($7.4M ÷ $36.8M = 20.1%). This decline is directly attributable to the false advertising campaign. Based on my extensive experience in the consumer products industry, my detailed knowledge of Meridian's business, and the analysis conducted by my team, there have been no other material market changes, product issues, supply-chain disruptions, regulatory events, or competitive developments during this period that would explain the magnitude of this revenue decline. The decline began in earnest in the weeks immediately following the campaign's launch in early June 2025 and has persisted and deepened throughout the third quarter. True and correct copies of the internal Meridian sales reports reflecting DermaTrūe revenue for Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 are attached hereto as Exhibit E.
17. The financial impact of the revenue decline is severe. At the DermaTrūe line's gross margin of 62.5%, the $7.4 million revenue decline in Q3 2025 translates to an estimated $4.625 million in lost gross profit for the quarter alone ($7.4M × 62.5% = $4.625M). If the campaign continues unchecked and the current rate of revenue decline persists, the annualized lost-profit impact is estimated at approximately $18.5 million ($4.625M × 4 quarters). I note that these figures are preliminary and conservative estimates. They do not account for the long-term erosion of brand equity, the compounding effect of customer defection to competitor products, the cost of potential corrective advertising, or the further downstream revenue impact of reduced retail shelf space and distribution — all of which will amplify the total financial harm substantially over time.
18. On August 5, 2025, Kingsley Drug Stores LLC ("Kingsley"), one of Meridian's most important retail partners and a major national retail drugstore chain operating more than 2,400 stores across the United States, notified Meridian in writing that it was reducing DermaTrūe's allocated shelf space by 30%, effective October 1, 2025. In its notification letter, Kingsley cited "declining consumer demand" as the basis for the shelf-space reduction. I was personally involved in communications with Kingsley regarding this decision, including a telephone call with Kingsley's Senior Vice President of Merchandising, in which the declining sales trajectory of DermaTrūe products was specifically discussed in the context of the competitive pressures created by the Apex campaign. Meridian's sales team has estimated the annual revenue impact of the Kingsley shelf-space reduction at approximately $4.1 million based on historical sales data for DermaTrūe products in Kingsley stores and the proportional reduction in shelf presence. A true and correct copy of the Kingsley notification letter dated August 5, 2025 is attached hereto as Exhibit D. The Kingsley decision is, in my professional judgment, a direct consequence of the consumer confusion and demand erosion caused by Apex's false advertising campaign. Shelf-space reductions of this nature are extremely difficult to reverse in the retail industry. Once a national retailer reduces a brand's physical shelf presence, regaining that shelf space typically requires years of sustained effort, significant promotional investment, and favorable market conditions — none of which can be assured.
19. Beyond the Kingsley reduction, I am aware, based on communications between Meridian's sales team and our other retail partners, that additional retail partners have expressed concern about DermaTrūe's competitive positioning in light of the Apex campaign. While I cannot disclose the details of confidential commercial discussions with these partners in a public filing, I believe, based on my experience and the information available to me, that the Kingsley shelf-space reduction is a harbinger of similar actions by other retail chains if the Apex campaign is not promptly enjoined. Reduced shelf space leads to reduced consumer visibility for the affected brand, which in turn drives further sales declines, which in turn lead to further shelf-space reductions — creating a self-reinforcing downward cycle of commercial harm that becomes increasingly difficult to arrest and reverse with each passing week.
VI. BRAND-PERCEPTION DAMAGE
20. In order to assess the impact of "The PuraClear Truth" campaign on consumer perceptions of the DermaTrūe brand, Meridian retained Dr. Eleanor Fisk of Fisk Analytics Group LLC, a highly regarded consumer research and survey methodology firm, to design and conduct consumer-perception surveys. Dr. Fisk conducted a baseline survey in January 2025, well before the launch of the Apex campaign, to establish a pre-campaign benchmark of consumer attitudes toward the DermaTrūe brand. Following the launch of the campaign, Dr. Fisk conducted a follow-up survey, which was fielded on August 22, 2025. The follow-up survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults, with a margin of error of ±2.5%. The results of the post-campaign survey, compared to the January 2025 baseline, demonstrate significant and alarming deterioration in consumer perceptions of the DermaTrūe brand:
(a) 34% of respondents who recalled exposure to PuraClear advertisements believed that DermaTrūe products were "overpriced" — up from 11% in the January 2025 baseline survey. This represents a more-than-threefold increase in the proportion of consumers who perceive DermaTrūe as overpriced, directly corresponding to the false price-comparison claim disseminated in the campaign.
(b) 27% of respondents who recalled exposure to PuraClear advertisements believed that DermaTrūe was "less effective than PuraClear" — up from 8% in the January 2025 baseline survey. This also represents a more-than-threefold increase, directly corresponding to the false clinical superiority claim disseminated in the campaign.
These results demonstrate significant, measurable, and quantifiable damage to the DermaTrūe brand's long-standing reputation for both value and clinical efficacy. Dr. Fisk's detailed methodology and complete findings are set forth in her separate declaration filed concurrently herewith.
21. Brand perception and consumer trust are intangible assets that are built over years, and sometimes decades, of sustained investment, consistent product performance, and transparent communication with consumers. The damage inflicted by false comparative advertising of this nature and scale cannot be fully remedied by an award of monetary damages alone. Once consumers form negative impressions about a brand's value proposition or product efficacy — particularly impressions driven by what appears to be clinical evidence and objective price data — those impressions are extremely difficult and costly to reverse. Corrective advertising, even if undertaken on a massive scale, produces uncertain results and cannot undo the damage to consumer trust that has already occurred. The consumers who have already been exposed to the false claims and have formed negative impressions of DermaTrūe may never be reached by corrective messaging, and those who are reached may not change their newly formed beliefs. Moreover, the ongoing nature of the campaign means that new consumers are being exposed to the false claims every day, and the harm is compounding on a daily basis. For all of these reasons, the harm to Meridian's brand equity and consumer goodwill is irreparable in nature and cannot be adequately compensated through monetary damages alone.
VII. PRE-LITIGATION EFFORTS TO RESOLVE THE DISPUTE
22. On June 18, 2025, approximately two weeks after the campaign launched, Meridian's General Counsel, Derek Cho, sent a detailed cease-and-desist letter to Apex's General Counsel, Tanya Fischetti, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all "The PuraClear Truth" advertisements from every media channel and a public retraction of the false claims contained therein. The letter identified each of the three false claims set forth above, explained why each claim was false or materially misleading, and demanded that Apex take corrective action within ten (10) business days. Apex did not comply with the demand and did not withdraw or modify any aspect of the campaign.
23. On July 3, 2025, Apex responded to the cease-and-desist letter through its outside counsel, Harrison Briggs of the firm Caldwell, Briggs & Nolan LLP, located at 200 Park Avenue, 42nd Floor, New York, New York 10166. In its response, Apex, through Mr. Briggs, denied all allegations of false or misleading advertising and asserted that all claims made in "The PuraClear Truth" campaign were truthful and adequately substantiated. Apex refused to withdraw or modify the campaign in any respect and gave no indication that it intended to take any corrective action whatsoever.
24. Having been unable to resolve the dispute through direct communication with Apex, Meridian pursued the matter through industry self-regulatory channels. On July 22, 2025, Meridian filed a formal complaint with the National Advertising Division ("NAD") of the Better Business Bureau, which was assigned Case Reference No. NAD-2025-01847. The complaint challenged each of the three false claims identified in this declaration. On August 15, 2025, NAD issued a preliminary recommendation that Apex discontinue or modify the clinical superiority claim and the price-comparison claim pending further substantiation. Despite this recommendation from the preeminent industry self-regulatory body for advertising disputes, Apex publicly stated that it would appeal the NAD recommendation and declined to modify the campaign in any respect. The campaign has continued to run across all media channels — television, digital, social media, in-store, print, and online — without any modification whatsoever since the date of NAD's recommendation.
25. Having exhausted its pre-litigation remedies and faced with Apex's categorical refusal to cease its false advertising, Meridian retained Calderwood & Harkness LLP on September 8, 2025, to initiate litigation to protect its rights and to seek injunctive relief from this Court.
VIII. ONGOING AND ESCALATING HARM
26. As of the date of this declaration, Apex continues to actively disseminate "The PuraClear Truth" campaign across all of the media channels identified above, including national television, digital video platforms, social media, in-store point-of-sale displays at major retail chains, consumer print publications, and the dedicated campaign page on the Apex corporate website. The campaign has been running continuously for approximately four months since its launch on or about June 2, 2025, and it shows no signs of abating. To the contrary, based on competitive media monitoring conducted by my team, the campaign appears to have maintained or even increased its media weight in certain digital and social media channels during the month of September 2025. Each additional day that the campaign runs inflicts further and compounding harm on the DermaTrūe brand and on Meridian's business.
27. Without injunctive relief from this Court, Meridian will continue to suffer irreparable harm that cannot be fully compensated by an award of monetary damages. This harm includes, but is not limited to: (a) further declines in DermaTrūe revenue and gross profit; (b) additional retail shelf-space reductions by Kingsley and other national retail partners; (c) continued erosion of consumer trust in, and perception of, the DermaTrūe brand's value, efficacy, and ingredient quality; (d) loss of market share to Apex and potentially to other competitors who benefit from DermaTrūe's weakened competitive position; and (e) long-term damage to brand equity that will require years and millions of dollars to repair, with no guarantee of full recovery. The harm is ongoing, escalating, and will become increasingly difficult — and ultimately impossible — to reverse with each passing day that the false advertising continues to reach consumers.
IX. IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION OF EXHIBITS
28. The following exhibits are attached to this declaration:
Exhibit A: True and correct copies of exemplar "The PuraClear Truth" campaign materials containing the clinical superiority claim, including screenshots of television advertisements, digital video advertisements, and the campaign webpage located at www.apexnaturals.com/puraclear-truth.
Exhibit B: True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing the price-comparison claim, including screenshots of television advertisements and in-store point-of-sale displays.
Exhibit C: True and correct copies of exemplar campaign materials containing the "clean" ingredients claim, including screenshots of digital advertisements and print advertisements.
Exhibit D: True and correct copy of the letter from Kingsley Drug Stores LLC dated August 5, 2025, notifying Meridian of the 30% reduction in DermaTrūe shelf space effective October 1, 2025.
Exhibit E: True and correct copies of internal Meridian sales reports reflecting DermaTrūe revenue for Q3 2024 ($36.8 million) and Q3 2025 ($29.4 million).
Exhibit F: True and correct copy of Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC Lab Report No. BSL-2025-0412, dated March 15, 2025, confirming the DermaTrūe Pure ingredient profile (paraben-free, sulfate-free, synthetic-fragrance-free).
29. I have personal knowledge of each of the exhibits identified above, and I can attest to their authenticity. Exhibits A through C consist of screenshots and printouts of Apex's advertising materials that were captured and preserved by Meridian's marketing team under my direction in the ordinary course of Meridian's competitive monitoring activities. Exhibit D is a letter that was received by Meridian from Kingsley Drug Stores LLC and is maintained in the ordinary course of Meridian's business in Meridian's commercial records. Exhibit E consists of internal financial reports that were prepared by Meridian's finance department in the ordinary course of Meridian's business and that I regularly review in my capacity as CMO. Exhibit F is a laboratory report that was received by Meridian from Beacon Scientific Laboratories LLC upon completion of the independent testing engagement that Meridian commissioned in connection with the DermaTrūe Pure reformulation.
X. CONCLUSION AND DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY
30. The false and misleading claims contained in Apex's "The PuraClear Truth" campaign have caused, and continue to cause, significant, measurable, and irreparable harm to Meridian's DermaTrūe brand and to Meridian's business. This harm includes, without limitation: (a) a $7.4 million decline in DermaTrūe revenue in Q3 2025, representing a 20.1% year-over-year decrease; (b) estimated lost gross profits of $4.625 million for Q3 2025 alone, with an annualized estimated impact of approximately $18.5 million; (c) the Kingsley Drug Stores shelf-space reduction of 30%, with an estimated annual revenue impact of $4.1 million; and (d) severe and measurable damage to consumer perceptions of DermaTrūe's value and efficacy, as demonstrated by the consumer-perception surveys conducted by Dr. Eleanor Fisk. Each of these categories of harm is ongoing and escalating, and none can be fully remedied by an award of monetary damages.
For all of the foregoing reasons, I respectfully request that the Court grant Meridian Consumer Brands LLC's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and order Apex Naturals Inc. to immediately halt the dissemination of "The PuraClear Truth" advertising campaign across all media channels.
31. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on September 22, 2025, at New York, New York.
________________________________________
Julia Whitmore Chief Marketing Officer Meridian Consumer Brands LLC
ATTORNEY CERTIFICATION
The undersigned attorneys for Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC hereby certify that the foregoing Declaration of Julia Whitmore was prepared with the assistance of counsel and is submitted in support of Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP
By: ________
Linda Osei, Partner Patrick Gallagher, Associate
600 Lexington Avenue, 30th Floor New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (212) 555-4800 Facsimile: (212) 555-4801
Attorneys for Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC Matter No. 1011-00004