The journey of Revant Himatsingka’s ‘Label Padhega India’ campaign

Today on Food Safety Day, we look at IG's Food Pharmer aka Revant Himatsingka’s ‘Label Padhega India’ and get into the deets of it all!

If there’s one thing that we have all come to understand and appreciate it's finding Indian content creators who realize the power that they hold as people with a platform. Some parts of content creation is highly dependent on being able to influence people and selling the audience a particular lifestyle. But some creators choose to de-influence and help the audience with information about everything that impacts their lives. Revant Himatsingka aka foodpharmer on Instagram is one of these de-influencers making a difference with the stories he has to share.

An MBA graduate from Kolkata, Revant is spreading awareness about clean eating and mindful consumption of food products. The creator who previously had a high-paying finance job in the US took his social media journey seriously and began using his platform to debunk the myths surrounding products that are marketed as ‘healthy.’ Himatsingka went from working for the companies that produce popular packaged foods to openly calling them out for being unhealthy. And this mission has him receiving lawsuits for the same.

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The de-influencing journey

After having closely worked with companies that produce packaged foods, Revant realized the role of marketing in the perception of ‘healthy food.’ His now wife also encouraged him to understand this world of nutrition, encouraging him to take a year-long course on the subject. Considering how 70% of what people consume today is packaged, further digging made him realize how oblivious people in our country are about their health. He has received about five lawsuits from four different brands.

The Bournvita saga

The Food brand Cadbury sued Himatsingka after one of his videos criticizing the ingredients of Bournvita went viral. He questioned whether the government should take action against companies providing misleading information about their products. And he argued about the sugar that kids end up consuming. 

Although he took down the video following the lawsuit, this saw a positive impact on December 23. Himatsingka shared a significant win – a 14.4% reduction in Bournvita's 'added sugar'. He has also called out brands like Tang, Sting, Kissan, Maggi, and various bread brands in India. The ripple effect of his influence was evident, with Maggi Ketchup subsequently reducing its sugar content by 22%. This later led to Bournvita being delisted from the health drink category by the government, which was a significant win for Himatsingka.

Label Padega India

As part of his mission to fight against food adulteration, Revant launched the “Label Padhega India” campaign on May 11. The campaign also took off while India was facing significant food scandals including the masala cancer controversy, the Patanjali controversy, the baby-milk sugar controversy, and the protein-powder controversy. Via this campaign, his aim was to empower consumers by promoting the importance of reading food labels. 

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A post shared by Revant Himatsingka (@foodpharmer)

As we continue to live a life that is highly influenced by capitalism, it feels good to know that there are influencers like Revant who are making conscious efforts to help us be more mindful of our purchases especially the food we consume.