Sweet as sugar turns a vice for FMCG brands

Consumer brands, beware! There seems to be growing distaste for all things sugary and oily, particularly for products that contain excess of it.

"Ab chini wali immunity bhagaiye" (now get rid of sugary immunity), communicated a recent advertisement by an Indian consumer goods company targeting rival's Chayawanprash, a desi ayurvedic energy food widely consumed during the winter.

While the advertisement, against which the rival went to court complaining disparagement, was created to push its own product, the tagline encapsulates the emerging debate over the desirability of products promoted as healthy supplements containing excess quantities of sugar.

Earlier, actor Amitabh Bachchan was criticised for the same reason by Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest for endorsing a nutrition initiative supported by a malt-based health drink.

This comes at a time when consumers are shying away from beloved brands for colas, concentrated juices and sweet malted beverages.

"Sugar is the new sin of consumption. This movement will grain traction in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) markets. India is the diabetes capital of the world. Sugar and carbohydrates will be progressively questioned and replaced by consumers," Harish Bijoor, a well known private-label consultant who specialises in brand strategies, told DNA Money.

The recent sale of Horlicks by GlaxoSmithKline and reports of Complan being put on the block by Kraft-Heinz have raised questions over future of a proprietary foods preparation that consists of one-third sugar.

Sweet malt-based drinks, despite being well entrenched in India as health drinks for kids, are marketed differently in the developed markets.

"We believe consumption of malted health drinks containing excess sugar are stagnating and instead there is growing demand for protein-based health drinks," ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar had said during an interaction when asked about his interest in Complan.

Beyond sugar, presence of oil in fried packaged products is also being questioned and consumers are looking for alternatives.

"We had initially faced resistance in positioning a non-fried snacks but now we believe there is growing consumer acceptance," says Sanjiv Goenka, head of Guiltfree Industries which has big plans for such baked products. At present, Guiltfree sells snacks such as veggie stix, multigrain chips and foxnuts under its 'Too Yumm' range.

"Indian consumers are getting health-savvy at last. Consumers will progressively ostracise oils and sugar in their branded diets," says Bijoor.