Will Foodpharmer’s “Label Padhega India” Make A Difference? – Updated

Revant Himatsingka, or Foodpharmer as he’s known, is gearing up to start a health revolution on 11th May. According to the latest posts shared on his social media accounts, “Label Padhega India” will begin a war against companies that mislabel their foods and have been misleading Indian consumers for decades! If you haven’t already heard of this health activist influencer and his initiatives, we’ve got you.

Foodpharmer or Revant Himatsingka is a social media influencer known for his work promoting healthy eating and advocating for transparency in food labeling, particularly with packaged foods in India. This young Indian is a high achiever who holds a degree from NYU Stern School of Business and The Wharton School. He previously worked in finance, including a stint at McKinsey & Company. However, after a brief but successful stint in finance, he decided to focus on his true passion; educating Indians about health with humor and hard facts! And, with 2.1M followers on Instagram and 503K YouTube subscribers, he’s already made his mark!

While Revant uses humor to share his message about healthy eating choices and label reading, he’s extremely invest in the cause. And we believe that a lot more people should be. Over the years, consumers have slowly become more conscious about the fact that a lot of labels. And advertising around “health” products are completely misleading. Is a process cereal load with sugar really a healthy breakfast for your child? You only need to do a little reading to learn the opposite. And these are the kind of basic but big facts that Foodpharma shares through his content to raise awareness.

In April 2023, his review on Cadbury’s Bournvita went viral after he criticized the company for it’s labelling. On reading through the content in the label, he explains how most of the ingredients are some form of sugar and the product is likely to contribute to diabetes. After the video became viral, the company filed a defamation case against him. And made him take down the video with an apology.

However, the video was massively reshared already and caused Bournvita a lot of bad publicity. In December 2023, Revant shared his “Big Win” with followers since all of this led to Bournvita reducing the sugar content by 15%! However, he still asserted that despite the reduction, the brand needed to stop falsely advertising itself as a health drink.

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A post shared by Revant Himatsingka (@foodpharmer)

While the Bournvita campaign was his claim to fame, Revant’s content is a whole treasury of information to help consumers make better decisions. One of his most impactful videos exposes a double standard by some multinational companies (MNCs). The video highlights how certain MNCs, like Nestle, allegedly use less expensive ingredients or potentially harmful additives in their Indian products compared to those sold elsewhere.

For example, Nestle’s baby food in India reportedly contains added sugar, unlike its European counterpart. Similarly, Skittles in India may contain Titanium Dioxide. A colorant linked to health concerns, while being absent from the European version. Everest and MDH masalas are ban in Singapore because they contain cancer-causing agents. But as we know are top sellers in India and found in most kitchens. This alleged practice raises concerns not only about corporate responsibility but also about lax regulations. The question all this raises is whether the government needs to do more to ensure consumers. And are protect from potentially harmful ingredients.

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A post shared by Revant Himatsingka (@foodpharmer)

Now, Revant is gearing up for his latest campaign called “Label Padhega India,” which translates to India will start reading labels. The question is, will they? And what exactly is the campaign going to do? From the trailers and posts shared on his accounts, we know that influencer @nasdaily and cricketer Dinesh Karthik are supporting the initiative. While he hasn’t shared too many details, he says:

“It’s time for Indians to unite and fight against all the health scams going on in the country. 1 year ago we started a health movement by fighting against Bournvita. It’s time for us to transform this “health movement” into a “health revolution”!! This battle is over, the war begins on 11th May!”

via Linkedin

As a “influencer” who leverages social media to raise awareness about healthy eating habits. And challenges big food companies on their labelling practices. We’re excited about what Foodpharmer is bringing to the table on 11th May!

The video for the campaign was released on Foodpharmer’s YouTube channel on 11th May. Multiple headlines from various leading publications like Times Of India are shared, which emphasize facts like how India has become a Diabetes capital. A catchy rap performed by Raagma talks about how most food and beverage companies compromise on quality in India and mislabel products. It features multiple influencers and celebrities like Mortal, Madan Gowri, Funcho, Tech Burner, Satvic Movement, Abhinav Bindra, Flying Beast, Sourav Joshi, Thugesh and Nas Daily who encourage viewers to start reading labels! Revant challenges consumers to read the ingredients on labels before consuming anything. And if you accept the challenge, participate using the following steps.

To participate in the challenge, follow these steps:

• Upload a Story or a Post with a label.
• Challenge 3 more people to do the same.
• Tag @Foodpharmer if you want Revant to repost it (but this is optional).
• Use the Label Padhega India music that has been added to the Instagram music library for the story or post.

According to his latest update, he also shared that he will be personally meeting some participants and also giving out gifts to 100+ people who take part in the challenge. We think it’s a great initiative and encourage you to participate and make companies accountable for what they are selling to Indian consumers as well!