India's proposal to introduce warning labels on certain food products has sparked nationwide discussions about how the country became dependent on inexpensive packaged food, while companies offered more nutritious versions of the same brands in other markets.
Due to household incomes being significantly below the global average, Indians actively consume cheap products such as Nestle's Maggi instant noodles and Coca-Cola Co.'s Thums Up. This creates a huge market for large food manufacturers who face little pressure to adhere to the nutritional standards they adopt in other countries.
However, the situation is changing. As a result of an industry setback, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced on Thursday the possibility of implementing stricter red warning labels on products exceeding government limits for added sugar, salt, or saturated fats. This decision came after Supreme Court judges raised questions regarding the FSSAI's initial plan for the phased introduction of such labels.
High sugar content poses a particular danger in India, which accounts for approximately a quarter of all global diabetes cases—a fact that health experts partially attribute to processed foods. According to Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk, over 101 million people in India live with diabetes in July, and another 136 million have prediabetes.
Rapidly Growing Market
According to research firm IMARC Group, the packaged food market in India grew to $137.25 billion in 2026 from $129.18 billion in 2025, and is projected to reach $238.83 billion by 2034.
Annually, about 6 billion meals in Indian households and on the streets consist of Maggi two-minute masala noodles, produced by Swiss giant Nestle. Maggi first launched the instant noodle brand in India in 1983, targeting young working mothers and children as a quick evening snack, using advertisements featuring children eating bowls of Maggi after school and playing, saying, 'Mom, I'm hungry.'
The product's success strengthened Nestle's position in the region, which is currently the fastest-growing for the company; all variants of Maggi are made using palm oil, whereas many versions sold in the UK use more expensive sunflower oil. Similarly, Nestle's KitKat bars in India contain less cocoa than their Australian counterparts.
Shashank Mehta, a former marketing manager at Unilever's division in India, noted: 'It plays on national pride—why should India be deprived? Why do companies make decisions for me, that I cannot afford better ingredients?' A former senior executive at Nestle, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that higher-quality ingredients are also more expensive and could lead to price increases in a cost-sensitive market.
Nestle stated in a release that recipes are developed considering consumer expectations, local taste preferences based on food culture, ingredient availability, and climatic conditions. The company emphasized that recipe variations do not affect product quality, adding that it has over 10 regional KitKat recipes worldwide. The company affirmed compliance with all Indian food safety laws and that ingredients are clearly listed on packaging.
Public Outcry
India has debated for years front-of-pack labeling to indicate high levels of sugar, salt, and fat, similar to what has been implemented in Chile and Mexico, but has faced resistance from the industry. Businesses were concerned because many traditional Indian products are high in sugar or fat.
Researchers note that the food labeling law in Chile in 2016, which places separate black octagons on the packaging for each high-nutrient substance, led to a 23.7% decrease in sugary drink purchases. The Association of All Indian Food Processors claims that 80% of packaged foods in India could be labeled as high in fat, sugar, or salt according to the proposed labeling rule.
The recent increased pressure in India for stricter labeling regulation has come from health activists and social media influencers. The food safety regulator's proposal emerged amid public outrage after Reuters reported that the Indian government yielded to industry pressure in March, when Coca-Cola and groups supporting Nestle and PepsiCo opposed placing warning labels on the front of food and beverage packaging.
Brands That Have Never Been Questioned
Western packaged goods giants have operated in India for about a century. Nestle began selling sweetened condensed milk in 1912 in what was then a British colony with a very poor local population. Unilever started selling 'dalda'—a hydrogenated vegetable oil formula—in India in 1937. This became a very affordable alternative to expensive traditional ghee and quickly entered the kitchens of lower classes, restaurants, and confectionery shops. Foreign corporations rapidly began local production to maintain low prices.
Parul Sharma, a former head of Mondelez in India overseeing supermarket sales, stated: 'Many recipes in India were developed decades ago for a very frugal consumer, and these recipes are simply still being used. For a long time, Indian consumers truly did not question the brands.'
Coca-Cola Co.'s Thums Up—a cola adapted to local tastes over decades—has become a brand worth over $1 billion, sold in India and exported to the Indian diaspora. Thums Up looks similar to Pepsi and Coca Cola externally but has a different taste. Coca-Cola Co. acquired this brand for about $60 million in 1993 to gradually phase it out and replace it with its own flagship beverage. However, Indian consumers were so devoted to this taste that Coca-Cola decided to keep it. Traditional Coca-Cola is also a cultural staple, sold on the streets with a generous serving of spices as 'masala cola.'
Coca-Cola did not respond to requests for comment. A Unilever representative stated that over the past five years, the company 'has made significant progress in reducing both sugar and salt across its portfolio, reflecting our commitment to healthier eating.' He added, 'We adhere to long-standing commitments to improving nutrition, guided by strict scientific standards.'
Former Mondelez executive Sharma noted that cementing a taste is one of the biggest hurdles for large companies when changing recipes. 'You cannot change a recipe overnight without risking the loss of a very loyal consumer base,' said Sharma.
