In its latest Earnings Call for Q4FY24, Hindustan Unilever rebranded the category of two of its very prominent products- Horlicks and Boost from ‘Health Drinks’ to ‘Functional Nutrition Drinks’.
This move come days after the Ministry of Commerce and Industry instructed e-commerce platforms to remove drinks like Bournvita and other similar products from the ‘health drinks’ category on all their portals and platforms, recognising that there is no ‘health drink’ defined under Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006.
Additionally, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had also instructed e-commerce players to not label any of the dairy-based, cereal-based, or malt-based beverages as ‘health drink’ or ‘energy drink’.
In HUL’s recent Earnings Call, Ritesh Tiwari, CFO, Hindustan Unilever, mentioned that the new name of the product category under which brands like Horlicks and Boost exist is ‘Functional Nutrition Drinks’.
He also mentioned that the FND category, which was earlier referred to as Health Drinks, has delivered high-single digit growth driven by Plus range and that it continues to gain market share and penetration on the back of sustained market development action.
Rohit Jawa, CEO and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever, also mentioned that having sharpened and fortified the proposition of ‘Taller, Stronger and Sharper’ through its communications, packaging redesign and promotions, the company has dialed up nutrition science information at the face of the pack, providing consumers with crucial information about the product.
