Health drink to food drink? Ecommerce sellers in a reorganising mode

E-commerce firms are expected to list products such as Horlicks, Bournvita and Boost under food drink, beverage and powder tags, according to people familiar with the matter.

This comes after the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued an advisory to e-commerce companies on April 10 to remove Bournvita and other products of that nature from the health drinks category on their portals. The advisory followed a probe by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights based on complaints it received on the high sugar content of such products.

E-commerce industry sources said that major players such as Amazon and Flipkart are working with sellers on their platforms to change the listing of products like Bournvita and Horlicks, which are currently under the health drinks category. 

“About 80 per cent of the compliance happens in 48 hours as it takes some time for the sellers to understand the new guidelines etc,” said a source aware of the matter. These companies may change the listing of such products as “food drink, beverage and powder drinks,” he pointed out.

Industry executives explained that it is much easier for Indian players such as Bigbasket, JioMart, Swiggy’s Instamart and Zomato’s Blinkit to change the listing as they are following an inventory-led model. “However, given the control of these platforms, it is surprising that these products are still available as health and nutrient drinks on these platforms,” said another source.

Queries to e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart remained unanswered till press time.

Players in this category may take a hit following the diktat linked to health drinks. A source said: “The industry sees double-digit sales only from e-commerce platforms. We have to wait and watch to see the impact that it will have on all players, but everyone will be impacted for sure.”

The source added that the industry has no choice but to comply with the new norms.

Bournvita, from the house of Mondelez India, has labelled its product as cereal-based beverage mix.

According to industry estimates, Horlicks is the leader in the segment with around 44 per cent market share. Bournvita has a double-digit market share with Boost and Complan owning around 5 per cent each. Both Horlicks and Boost are HUL brands, while Zydus Wellness owns Complan.   

The health food drinks category, which is nearly a $1 billion industry in the country, has already been witnessing a slowdown for a few years.

“Consumers will start to divert from this category and this will have a negative impact on sales for the industry,’’said Sachin Bobade, vice-president at brokerage firm Dolat Capital.

> Horlicks is the market leader in the health food drink segment with around 44% market share

> Bourn Vita, which has double-digit market share with Boost and Complan, has labelled its product as cereal-based beverage mix

> The health foods drinks category, which is nearly a $1 billion industry, has already been witnessing a slowdown 

Nestlé adds sugar to infant milk: Report

Nestlé adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America, according to a news report by The Guardian. The report said that a Swiss investigative organisation, Public Eye, sent samples of food products to a laboratory in Belgium for testing, and the results showed that the global foods major adds sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in samples of Nido, a milk formula brand for infants above the age of 1 and Cerelac, a cereal which is aimed at children aged between six months and two years. 

 

First Published: Apr 17 2024 | 10:49 PM IST