Why Bournvita is No Longer a ‘Health Drink’ and what is the reason for its removal?
The government has asked all online shops to stop listing the drinks as “healthy drinks”. This is bad news for brands like Bournvita.
The government order comes after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) found that there was no official definition of “health drink” in the law, a Moneycontrol report said.
The government notice cited an investigation by the NCPCR, which found that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Mondelez India did not define any of the drinks as “health drinks” under the law.
As a result, the government has asked online stores to stop listing drinks like Bornvita in the “health drinks” section.
The decision follows FSSAI’s recent request to online stores not to classify dairy, grain or malt-based drinks as “health drinks” or “energy drinks”. According to the Food Safety Authority, these drinks are only flavored water-based drinks, not health drinks.
The FSSAI also warned that consumers could be misled by using wrong wording, so online shops were asked to remove or correct any misleading advertisements.
Himatsinka: The influential person behind its removal
As of April 2023, Revant Himatsinka held a prominent finance position in the United States. However, in the last eight months, he has turned his attention to leading the nutrition movement. He advised popular health drink and instant noodles brands to reduce sugar in their products. As a result, they faced five lawsuits from four different brands. Throughout this journey, she used her Instagram platform, which has 1.4 million followers, to educate her audience about healthy food choices with a mix of humor.
After earning an MBA from the Wharton School, he continued working as a consultant to sustain himself financially. However, his interest was in reforming the packaged food industry. In April 2023, he took a bold decision to quit his lucrative job in America and return to Kolkata. Despite the financial sacrifice, he is motivated by the belief that by raising awareness and adding value, he can achieve success in India as well. His primary motivation was to bring about positive change.
On April 1 last year, he uploaded a video discussing the sugar content in Bournvita and its potential impact on children. At that time he had only 1,000 followers on Instagram. The video garnered a lot of attention, leading to a legal notice being sent to the brand, after which it had to take down the video. However, it had already spread through WhatsApp groups and attracted attention from major TV news channels. In just one week, his follower count crossed 100,000 thanks to that one video.
What is the Bournvita case?
The Bournvita case involved a dispute over the branding of Bournvita as a healthy drink for child development. After facing criticism, Mondelez-owned Cadbury is in trouble once again after the commerce ministry advised e-commerce websites to remove drinks like Bournvita from the ‘health drinks’ category.
Why did the government advise ‘health drinks’?
Concerns over misuse of the term ‘health drink’ on e-commerce platforms and advertisements have prompted the government to issue a ‘health drink’ advisory. The advisory was prompted by an investigation by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which found that there was no official definition of ‘health drink’ under the FSS Act 2006. As a result, the government considered it unfair. Label the drinks as ‘health drinks’ and direct e-commerce companies to remove such products from the category.
As there is no legal definition of ‘health drink’, it is inappropriate to label soft drinks as such. Therefore, e-commerce companies were directed to remove drinks like Bournvita from the health drinks category.
Action against NCPCR Bournvita
In connection with the NCPCR investigation against Bournvita, the child rights organization asked Cadbury to withdraw misleading advertising and packaging within a month of the dispute. Bournvita was later accused of being falsely promoted as a health drink despite its high sugar content.
Bournvita feedback and clarification
Bournvita later issued a statement denying the Instagram influencer’s claims. The company emphasized that each serving contains 7.5 grams of added sugar, which is below the recommended daily limit for children. Watch the video:
What is this @DairyMilkIn ?
Cadbury helping lobby of pharma companies for more n more diabetic patients !!!
(WA received) pic.twitter.com/q6P4gQ85VV
— Mayur Sejpal 🇮🇳 (Modi ji ka parivar) (@mayursejpal) April 4, 2023
Reduction in sugar content: a significant change
In December, Cadbury reduced the sugar content in Bournvita by approximately 15%. The original formula contained 37.4 grams of added sugar per 100 grams, which was reduced to 32.2 grams. Influential people hailed the decision as a victory.
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