Mumbai: Cadbury’s Bournvita, made by Mondelez, has slashed added sugar content by 14.4%.
Marketed as a ‘scientifically designed’ nutrition drink that adds ‘strength every day’, the popular 75-year-old Bournvita made headlines for the wrong reasons last year after health influencer Revant Himatsingka shared a video highlighting the drink’s high sugar content.
The Instagram Reel, posted in April 2022, went viral and Cadbury was widely criticised.
The company even sent a legal notice to Himatsingka, stating that his claims were “unscientific” with “distorted facts”.
Eight months after the controversy erupted, Mondelez has had to climb down and make a change in composition.
Bournvita has now reduced added sugar content to 32.2 grams per 100 grams of powder, from the previous 37.4 grams per 100 grams of powder.
Soon after the company’s decision, Himatsingka — popularly known as Food Pharmer – had the last laugh.
“Big win! Probably the first time in history that an INSTAGRAM REEL led to a food giant reducing its sugar content! One video resulted in a 15% reduction in sugar. Imagine if all Indians started reading food labels. Companies wouldn’t dare falsely market themselves,” Himatsingka wrote alongside another video he posted on Instagram.
“This fight isn’t against Bournvita. The fight is against any company that sells junk food but markets itself as healthy! The fight is to get 140 crore Indians eating healthier! One company changing its sugar content, will result in a chain reaction, and every company will be slightly more careful now,” he added.
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