HUL removes Horlicks from ‘health’ category to 'FND'

Amid the commerce and industry ministry's directions, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), the owner of Horlicks and Boost, has rebranded these products by removing "health" labels and positioning it in the “functional nutritional drinks”(FND) category. The company, however, has retained its tagline, which is "taller, stronger, and sharper".

The changes were announced by HUL CFO Ritesh Tiwari in a presser on April 24, 2024, in which he said the latest rebranding was an accurate description of the category.

The brand website says Horlicks, made from "milk, wheat and 27 vital nutrients”, helps children become “taller, stronger and sharper". The company, in its recent filing, also said that functional nutritional drinks (Horlicks & Boost) delivered high single-digit growth, driven by plus range in the January-March quarter.

According to the company, the size of the functional nutritional drinks (FND) category was estimated at ₹500 crore as of March 31, 2024.

Notably, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on April 10, 2024, issued a notification, asking e-commerce platforms to remove drinks and beverages from its "health drinks" category.

The food regulator FSSAI also asked the companies, especially e-commerce platforms, to avoid promoting dairy, cereal or malt-based beverages as "health drinks".

The regulator scrutiny followed the government's other directives for e-commerce platforms, which asked the companies not to label Cadbury Bournvita and other similar beverages in the "health drink" category. Mondolez India-owned Bournvita, following the directions from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last year, had to remove all controversial packaging from the product.

Additionally, FMCG major Nestle courted row this week when an international report said India was among the 12 low-and-middle countries where Switzerland-based FMCG brand Nestle sells baby food products, which contain “high levels” of added sugar, even though it sells these products with no added sugar in Switzerland, where Nestlé is headquartered.

Nestlé brands these baby-food brands as “healthy” products, which points to the Swiss food giant's “hypocrisy and deceptive marketing”, said the report by Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).

The report said Nestle sells a total of 15 Cerelac baby products in India, of which all contain added sugar, with around 2.7 gm of added sugar per serving. The number is the highest in other lower and middle-income countries, with the Philippines, Nigeria, and Senegal in the top three. Added sugar per serving in the Philippines stands at 7.3 gm per serving, Nigeria stood at 6.8 gm, while in Senegal it was recorded at 5.9 gm.

Following the report, the FSSAI launched a probe and proposed to form a committee to look into the matter. In its defence, the company said it "never compromises" on nutritional quality.

Separately, masala makers like Everest and MDH have also found themselves on the wrong footing when health regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore reportedly asked them to recall certain products over alleged "pesticide" content.