 "India's food story in 2025: Ultra-processed diets meet health warnings")
India’s food scene in 2025 emerged as a story of sharp contrasts. Even as supermarket shelves filled with ultra-processed snacks, ready-to-eat meals and wellness-branded foods, evidence through the year mounted of widening nutrition gaps and rising metabolic disease.
Rapid growth in packaged food consumption coincided with sharper scrutiny of health claims and a renewed policy push for clearer labelling—highlighting how convenience, aspiration and public health pulled Indian diets in competing directions.
The booming food market
In 2025, India’s food industry recorded one of its fastest phases of expansion in recent years. Processed and ready-to-eat foods were at the heart of this growth, driven by urbanisation, online retail and time-pressed lifestyles. While traditional staples remained central, packaged foods and healthier alternatives, such as millet snacks, plant-based options and fortified meals, saw strong demand.
As the year progressed, this growth revealed a dual edge: the same trends that catered to “health-oriented” eating also boosted consumption of products that were nutrient-poor despite wellness branding.
A survey by Nutrify Today showed that even among India’s Gen Z, often considered the most health-aware cohort, 44 per cent consume junk food often or regularly, despite high interest in weight loss, immunity and skin health. One in five reported a diagnosed micronutrient deficiency, mainly iron, vitamin D and B12. "At the top of Gen Z’s priorities are weight and fat loss, healthy skin and hair, immunity, muscle gain, and mental well-being. These intentions, however, coexist with a reality where nearly half of respondents report frequent junk-food consumption, creating a measurable gap between desired outcomes and daily habits," said Amit Srivastava, Founder of Nutrify Today.
This gap between intention and behaviour mirrored the broader Indian market, where “healthy” packaged foods often replaced, rather than reduced, ultra-processed consumption.
Healthy packaged foods — helpful or misleading?
The so-called “healthy” food market saw rapid growth, as consumers sought options that promised better nutrition. Segments like fortified foods, functional snacks and reduced-sugar products attracted health-aware buyers.
Yet, nutritionists cautioned that claims such as “multigrain”, “high protein”, or “low sugar” could be misleading without context. A biscuit with multigrain flour may still be high in total calories and sodium, while “low sugar” beverages may use artificial sweeteners with their own health considerations.
This meant that even when consumers opted for “healthier” packaged options, ambiguous marketing and unclear nutrient information often misled choices, underscoring the need for clear, science-based regulation.
Ultra-processed foods — convenience vs nutritional quality
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) became a more entrenched part of Indian diets. These range from flavoured snacks and soft drinks to microwavable meals and “healthy” bars. Their convenience and marketing appeal mask nutritional concerns: they tend to be high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats while lacking fibre and essential micronutrients.
National dietary studies reveal that poor dietary patterns are contributing to India’s escalating burden of non-communicable diseases. A major ICMR study found that 62 per cent of calories consumed by Indian adults come from carbohydrates, disproportionately from refined sources, with diet patterns linked to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Climbing health risks: obesity and diabetes on the rise
Doctors and health surveys increasingly sounded an alarm. Childhood obesity and unhealthy lifestyles spread further, especially in urban centres, driven by the globalisation of fast food and increased consumption of processed snacks. Recent studies show a significant rise in overweight and obese children, trends medical experts link to poor diet quality and sedentary habits.
A new layer of concern emerged from national dietary data. Nearly half of India’s at-home protein intake now comes from cereals such as rice, wheat, suji and maida, according to an independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) analysing the latest 2023–24 NSSO Household Consumption Expenditure Survey.
While Indians consume an average 55.6 g of protein per day at home, the study notes that cereals alone supply close to 50 per cent of this protein, despite their poor amino-acid profile and low digestibility. Researchers warn that over-reliance on cereal-based protein, combined with rising consumption of ultra-processed foods, may widen micronutrient gaps and worsen metabolic health.
Apoorve Khandelwal, fellow, CEEW, said, “This study spotlights a silent crisis in India's food system: over-reliance on low-quality proteins, excess calories from cereals and oils, and stark under-consumption of diverse, nutrient-rich foods.”
FSSAI, the Supreme Court and front-of-pack nutrition labelling
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been working since 2022 on front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOPNL), a proposal to place clear, easy-to-read nutritional information, or warning symbols for high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat, on the front of packaged foods.
In July, the Supreme Court directed FSSAI to implement front-of-pack nutrition labels on all packaged food products, emphasising the need to empower consumers and tackle India’s growing obesity and non-communicable disease burden.
The court also granted FSSAI’s expert committee additional time to finalise its recommendations, reflecting the regulator’s request for a three-month extension to frame stringent FOPNL rules. The directive came with a clear deadline and a nod to the public health imperative, a message that health experts largely backed.
Consumers at a crossroads
Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, demanded far more transparency from the food and nutraceutical industry over the year. According to a survey by Nutrify Today, 41.5 per cent of Gen Z trust doctors and nutritionists most when making health-food decisions, a sharp contrast to the marketing-led growth of processed “wellness” products.
Sustainability also shaped their choices, with 52 per cent considering environmental impact when purchasing nutrition products, signalling that India’s next wave of consumers expects food brands to be honest, responsible and clearly labelled.
India’s food landscape in 2025 ultimately reflected a society at a crossroads, balancing rising aspirations for health and convenience with a public health system pushing for greater transparency and accountability. As 2025 draws to a close, the year leaves behind a clear message: a sustained dialogue between regulators, industry and consumers will be essential as lifestyles and consumption patterns continue to change.
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This report is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.