In a move that will impact major brands like Horlicks, Boost and Complan, e-commerce platforms in India have been directed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to remove all drinks and beverages from the ‘health' category. This comes after the country's food regulator concluded that there is no legal definition of a ‘health drink' under current F&S laws.
Following paragraphs summarize the key details from the original article without adding or changing any information:
In an advisory issued on April 10th, DPIIT asked all major e-tailers including Amazon, Flipkart and BigBasket to remove products like Bournvita, Horlicks and Complan from being listed under ‘health drinks'. The directive referred to an investigation by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights which found that laws do not define the category of a ‘health drink'.
While beverage manufacturers will not be directly impacted as they do not label their products as health drinks, e-commerce platforms will need to alter search filters and category listings. For inventory-led retailers, changes may be implemented quickly but marketplaces will require coordination with brand owners and sellers. As of now, leading portals continue to classify these beverages as nutritional or healthy options for customers.
