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The Collection Wed, 04 Jun 25 |
Multiple stories, multiple perspectives, one theme worth your time—every week. |
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Here’s a confession: I’m an easy target for food marketing campaigns. The fact that I’ve bought sweetened sparkling water more than once should tell you as much.
At the same time, like many average Joes, I’m more mindful of my body than ever before, but perhaps not enough to consistently flip over packaging and scan the nutritional value of each product I consume.
There’s a disconnect between my actions and thoughts. Many food companies seem keenly aware of this mindset, and promise to bridge this gap by altering familiar foods to add a dose of “healthiness”.
Want to munch on a bar? Choose one with protein instead of chocolate. Reaching for a cup of milk? Replace it with the A2 variant. And cook with refined “healthy” oils, please.
It’s not just food. Is walking 10,000 steps every day necessary? Should everyone do strength training? And will buying that standing desk undo the consequences of years of slouching? Does magnesium really improve your sleep?
There are more options than ever, but little clarity about what actually works. Navigating the sea of misinformation is a feat in itself.
When it comes to food, exercise, and supplements—anything related to health—there is no shortage of prescriptive advice. Many people fall for quick fixes or buy into fads that promise more than they deliver.
The Ken will host a live event on 21 June in Bengaluru, titled “Achieving Vitality: New Visions for Health, Fitness, and Wellness”. We’re bringing together experts who cut through the hype—Olympic swimmer Nisha Millet, Narayana Health vice chairman Viren Shetty, and Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as The Liver Doc. With them, we aim to tackle important questions around health and well-being, and give you useful takeaways.
You can get your tickets here: https://the-ken.com/event/achieving-vitality-new-visions-for-health-fitness-and-wellness/
In this week’s edition of The Collection, though, we examine the numerous food trends that have cropped up in the past few years. Hopefully, our coverage will help you separate fact from fiction and develop mindful eating habits.
Just last month, my colleague Pranathi wrote about the latest fad in town: protein.
Let this be abundantly clear: India has a protein deficiency. A staggering 73% of Indians fail to meet their daily protein requirements, while 93% don’t even know how much they need every day (it’s 0.8–1g per kg of body weight). And if you don’t consume meat or eggs, you’ll need to be even more intentional about meeting those needs.
A host of startups are now trying to plug this gap by adding protein to bars, shakes, chips, lassi, and even… water.
Where do these brands source their protein from? Does merely sprinkling some whey isolate onto any product make it “healthy”? What should you consider or keep in mind before buying these items? And most importantly, are they worth the premium?
Protein water, protein roti, protein kulfi: inside India’s $1.5 billion food fetish
Grand claims and the pitfalls of excess plague protein products in a country that can’t get enough of such foods
Of course, it isn’t just new D2C brands that sense an opportunity in this crisis. Even India’s largest producer of milk and cheese is paying attention. The company launched its first protein-infused products in 2022. But can it make this a mass-market category? We covered Amul’s moves last year.
Amul made India the world’s top milk producer. Its next target is protein
The behemoth wants to use a key dairy byproduct—whey—to sell protein to a population that needs more of it
The promise of health isn’t just about adding protein, it’s also about removing other things, like sugar.
Brands did away with sugar, but kept the sweetness by using natural alternatives like dates or artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.
In 2022, we examined how some brands were using these alternatives—and how “healthy” these substitutes actually were.
The bitter reality of no-added-sugar products
Brands like Noto and The Whole Truth promise guilt-free indulgence with foods made of sugar alternatives. But these are far from the healthy substitutes they are made out to be
Given the desire for healthy alternatives, the number of consumers of organic food has risen sharply from 1.5 million households to 5–6 million in just under four years.
Labels promise “clean eating”, so it’s easy for consumers to jump on the bandwagon. But small brands that pioneered the organic movement in India are being edged out by major food companies. Read our coverage to understand how larger brands took over the organic trend.
Tata and ITC are harvesting what small organic-food brands cultivated for years
Conscious consumers are gravitating toward organic food. But, with a mix of small to mid-sized brands and FMCG majors, the playing field is far from level
Meanwhile, cooking-oil makers have long claimed that refined oils are healthy. If only that were true.
But the reality is that all refined oils go through multiple “purification” processes that use harmful chemicals like Hexane. Also, reusing refined oil—a fairly common practice at restaurants of all sizes—produces toxic elements that may cause cancer.
The health risks increase further when oils are turned into solid fats, like shortening or margarine, called partially hydrogenated oils. They are mostly used in ultra-processed foods like chips, namkeens, and baked items like cookies and cakes, which are increasingly contributing to the growing waistlines of Indians.
To top it off, some brands have even added the word “health” or “healthy” to their names.
In another story from 2022, we looked at the reality behind refined oils and the healthier alternatives that were available on the market.
The slick claims of India’s ‘healthy’ oils
Years of media campaigns and clever branding by cooking-oil companies have led people to believe that refined oils do not have any health risks. But the devil lies in the fine print
Thankfully, marketing claims like these sometimes face regulatory pushbacks. In August 2024, India’s food regulator, FSSAI, issued a directive asking for the removal of the “A1” and “A2” labels from milk packaging. These refer to types of beta-casein, the largest group of protein found in milk. The directive, however, was withdrawn within a week.
Some companies claim that “pure A2” is easier to digest and better suited for people with medical conditions like diabetes, lactose intolerance, and even heart disease.
But these claims are built on shaky ground.
The dodgy science behind India’s US$300 million A2 milk industry
A2 milk, which is derived from cows that produce the A2 variant of the beta-casein milk protein, is up to 4X more expensive than regular milk. Claims of its health benefits are on a shaky ground, though, and startups banking on it solely does not make good business sense
A wave of “de-influencers” has emerged to debunk problematic health claims. They aim to counter misinformation around food and wellness. Read about their struggles and their plans for monetising their content.
Influencers promote products. What happens when they do the opposite?
Doctors, nutritionists, and other experts battle misinformation about food and health, but breaking this vicious cycle is tough
That’s all for this edition. As always, you can write to me at [email protected] or leave a comment on the onsite version of this edition.
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Rahul leads the promotion and distribution efforts for the journalism produced by The Ken. He works at the intersection of the publication's editorial and business operations.
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