Recently, a food pharmer named Revant Himatsingka has given an open challenge to Saffola, which is one of the leading health care brands of India.
He has shared a post on LinkedIn challenging Saffola to change their 'misleading' peanut butter packaging. The post read, “Today I am giving a 6 month deadline to Saffola to change their misleading peanut butter packaging. Saffola’s peanut butter says 31% protein RDA which clearly implies that people will get 31% of their daily protein needs from Saffola peanut butter. But in tiny font in the back on the package, they write the protein requirements mentioned are for 7-9 year olds.
“In order to make their protein content seem big, Saffola compares their protein content to a kid’s protein requirement since kids need lesser protein. A low protein diet is one of the major causes behind several Indian illnesses. Companies must market their protein content honestly because many Indians opt to have peanut butter to increase protein in their diet,” he further added.
He presented 2 options to Saffola and wrote, “I am giving Saffola 2 options:
Option 1: Don’t make any changes and I might take legal action.
Option 2: Change your packaging and remove this 31% protein RDA claim and I will make a video praising you.
It is time for Indians to stand fearless and united against misleading ads which prompt us to eat junk food and lead unhealthy livestyles.”
“This is my most aggressive video in the recent times. It's time to raise the stakes. For the past 1.5 years, companies were sending legal notices against me, now it’s my turn to send legal notices to companies that are falsely advertising,” he further mentioned.
Revant Himatsingka also known as food pharmer, is a certified health coach, author and a TED speaker from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He has studied in Carnegie Mellon University, following that he pursued bachelors in Finance and Management from New York University - Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He then got a masters degree in MBA from The Wharton School.
He has authored a book titled ‘Selfienomics: A Seriously Funny Guide to Living the Good Life’. He has previously worked in McKinsey. He creates videos to educate people about health, social issues, and life.
According to his bio, Revant has 3 main goals for the next few years. His goals include preventing FMCGS from marketing junk food as healthy food, promoting clean businesses and teaching Indians how to read food labels.