HUL rebrands Horlicks as 'functional nutritional drink', removes 'health'

Rebranding offers clearer and more transparent representation of the product category, says company

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), on Wednesday, rebranded its category formerly known as "health food drinks" to "functional nutritional drinks" (FND) and removed the "health" label from Horlicks, in light of the recent regulatory changes in the health drinks category.

This change follows the directive from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which instructed e-commerce platforms to remove drinks and beverages from the "healthy drinks" category, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).
 

At a press conference on Wednesday, Ritesh Tiwari, chief financial officer (CFO) of Hindustan Unilever, said the shift to the FND label offers a clearer and more transparent representation of the category.

ET reported that regulatory attention arises from the lack of a precise definition for "health drinks" in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006., The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently asked e-commerce platforms to refrain from labelling dairy, cereal, or malt-based beverages as "health drinks" or "energy drinks", seeking to prevent consumer confusion and misleading advertising.

These developments follow concerns raised about high sugar levels in beverages, exemplified by Mondalez India-owned Bournvita's scrutiny a few days ago, the ET report stated.

Bournvita controversy

The government recently told e-commerce websites that beverages such as Bournvita should not be labelled as "health drinks" since the category lacks a defined definition in the country's food laws.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in a notification, stated, “All e-commerce companies/portals are hereby advised to remove drink/beverages, including Bournvita, from the category of "health drinks" from their sites/portals.”

According to the ET report, Cadbury Bournvita, the country’s most popular malted drink, had found itself in a controversy last year after a social media influencer alleged that the drink has high sugar content.

Last year, Cadbury Bournvita became embroiled in a controversy following allegations by a social media influencer claiming the drink contained excessive sugar content.

Mondelez India, the parent company of Bournvita, issued a legal notice to the influencer to remove the video. However, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) requested the brand to retract all misleading packaging, advertising, and labels, the ET reported.

Nestle controversy

A recent study conducted by Swiss NGO Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) said its study found significant disparities in the sugar content of Nestle's infant products across multiple countries.

The study, which analysed some 150 baby food products in various nations, claimed that Nestle's items in South Asian (including India), African, and Latin American markets exhibit substantially higher sugar content compared to those available in Europe, the ET report stated.

The report, published in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, showcased results from testing conducted by a Belgian laboratory on the samples. These findings revealed that the sugar levels surpassed international food safety standards.

According to the ET report, following this, Nestle issued a clarification saying: "We would like to assure you that our infant cereal products are manufactured to ensure the appropriate delivery of nutritional requirements such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, iron etc., for early childhood. We never compromise and will never compromise on the nutritional quality of our products. We constantly leverage our extensive global research and development network to enhance the nutritional profile of our products."