On 13th April 2023, Cadbury issued a legal notice to social media influencer Revant Himantsingka who had shared a video on social media criticising the endorsement of Cadbury’s product Bournvita as a ‘health drink’. As the social media influencer received the notice, he deleted the post from his profile, but before that, the video had gone viral. The social media influencer’s Twitter handle was restricted. He lost his followers and later his account was permanently removed from the platform.
Revant Himantsingka is a social media influencer. He runs his Instagram handle named Food Pharmer. In his recent social media post, he informed about the legal notice he received from the company. He said in his post, “I created a video on Cadbury Bournvita which incidentally went viral receiving nearly 12 million views on Instagram. Some known personalities such as Paresh Rawalji, and cricketer Kirti Azadji shared it on Twitter and actor Madhavan also liked the video.”
He added, “I have decided to take down the video across all platforms after receiving a legal notice from one of India’s biggest law firms on 13th April 2023. I apologize to Cadbury for making the video. I did not plan or intend to infringe any trademark or defame any company nor do I have the interest or resources to participate in any court cases and I request MNCs to not take this forward legally.”
Revant Himantsingka further said, “After quitting a high-paying job in the US, I came back to India to start Food Pharmer with the belief that food is medicine and by eating food made by farmers, we can reduce our dependency on pharma. Thank you to all my supporters for your constant encouragement and concern for me. I will keep making videos to help you eat healthier!”
In the viral video about Cadbury’s Bournvita, he said, “Bournvita. Many of us have been drinking this for years. so let’s review it for one minute. Front package (which reads endorsement points of the product) active brain – pretty good, strong muscles – great, strong bones- excellent, immune system – fabulous. So before covid, they did not have the immune system in their package. But now that they know everyone is looking for immunity, so they added the immune system to their package. Because it sells. Even though they have made no change in the product. In fact, on Amazon, Zepto, Blink it, they call themselves the health drink.”
Bournvita Fans !! do note .. 50% is SUGAR !! Stop getting fooled by MNC’s. pic.twitter.com/OLYkwmzSG7
— 🇮🇳Surya Prakash ☀️🌞🔆🇮🇳 🇺🇸 (@i_desi_surya) April 7, 2023
He further said, “Let’s turn the package around. A lot of other health claims here as well in strength and other things. Look at the ingredient list. Sugar is the second ingredient. Then we have cocoa solids which are basically chocolate. Colour (150C) which is a caramel colour that is known for causing cancer and reducing immunity. Liquid glucose which is again sugar. Maltodextrin is again a fancy word for sugar. They also have an emulsifier 471 which is made from glycerine to extend the shelf life. They have raisin agents and artificial vanilla flavour, none of which is good for you.”
He added, “If you look at the ingredient label here, per hundred grams they have 50 grams of sugar. So basically the entire half of this bag is of sugar. How is this helping your brain? How is this helping your immunity? How is this even legal? Cadbury is not a health company. It is a chocolate company. Instead of an active kid, there should be a sick kid in the photo here. The tagline is Taiyari Jeet Ki (meaning – getting ready for victory). But I think the tagline should be Taiyari Diabetes Ki (meaning – getting ready for diabetes). I will request parents to please stop getting their kids addicted to these products. I request to take action against these false claims.”
Though the video is now removed from his social media handle, it is already widely circulated. In the caption of this reel, Revant Himantsingka wrote, “Should the government allow companies to blatantly lie on their package? Parents are getting their children addicted to sugar at a young age, and the children end up craving sugar throughout their lives.” On Instagram alone, this video was viewed by more than 12 million people.
Cadbury Bournvita, on 9th April 2023, issued a clarification about the product on their Twitter handle. It said, “Bournvita has enjoyed the love and trust of consumers for over seven decades. Bournvita contains nutrients namely vitamins A, C, and D, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Selenium which help build immunity. These have been part of our formulation for several years. We have always called out “Helps with the healthy functioning of the immune system” on the back of our pack for several years (even before the Covid-19 pandemic).”
— BournvitaIndia (@BournvitaIndia) April 9, 2023
The clarification further said, “Bournvita is best consumed with a glass of 200ml hot or cold milk as highlighted on the pack. Every serving of Bournvita has 7.5 grams of added sugar, which is approximately one and a half teaspoons. This is much less than the daily recommended intake limits of sugar for children. Bournvita is a scientifically designed formula made with ingredients that are approved for use and all our ingredients are declared on the pack.”
Caramel colour is not identified as carcinogenic
It is notable here that Revant Himantsingka’s video claimed that the caramel colour used in Bournvita causes cancer. However, caramel colours are used in many foods and beverages under permissible limits and studies have shown that linking them to cancer is not correct. The US FDA identifies caramel colouring as safe.
Influencer sued by corporate
This is not the first time that a brand has issued notice to a social media influencer for allegedly defaming the company and its product or services. Earlier Whitehat Jr had also taken similar action against social media influencers who highlighted the practices of the online education company.
In 2020, WhiteHatJr and its founder Karan Bajaj filed a defamation suit of Rs.20 crore against YouTuber and whistle-blower Pradeep Poonia. In a series of allegations made on YouTube and Twitter, Poonia had claimed that WhiteHatJr, the online coding learning platform for kids, is scamming its customers. He also alleged that any voice raised against the company is dealt with by bullying and harassment.
