The number of Indian consumers who want to buy 'green' products is many times more than the number of customers who actualy know 'what' green products are. Is it real concern for the world we want to leave behind or another fad? More like a endearing 'status symbol' maybe! Whatever the reason people want to buy green products, manufacturers are raking in real big by green washing products that are made to appear green even if in fact they are not so green. Indian food laws do not help, nor are there laws to ensure sufficient disclosure in other product categories.
Take Britanna's modern bread for example. The multi-grain bread has bold and colorful display on the pack about the various cereals used to make the bread. When one consumes the really soft white bread and starts looking for details, one discovers that there are none! The proportion of the various ingredients does not require to be mentioned. Similarly there are many electrical/electronic products claiming to be eco-friendly and there is no need to submit such claims to any independent test.
MTR has recently launched multi-grain dosa, oats idli, and a slew of healthy (healthier??)breakfast options, all of them will do well in this 'green wannabe' market, however, how are these dosa's healthier than the original and also how much better (relative benefit) is a clouded area with neither the manufacturer nor the government (any disclosure requirement) giving the consumer any information.
Look at organic products. All high priced and doing extremely well. One can use the expression 'made with organic ingredients if 70% of the product is made from organically grown products. Even to use the expression 'organic' 5% can be pesticides/chemicals as 95% must be free of these.
Another large market is for healthy tea. Must be greater than Rs.500 crore p.a already and growing. There are black,white and green teas, however the most successful health tea brands do not contain any tea leaves at all. Do customers really know this? Should they be informed?
Food product labeling is a very interesting area where manufacturers can ride a large uninformed market until someone does something or the customer understands, usually after the manufacturers have completed overflowing their coffers by selling a healthy dream. That is still fine for other products, however food to me is another matter.
Take Britanna's modern bread for example. The multi-grain bread has bold and colorful display on the pack about the various cereals used to make the bread. When one consumes the really soft white bread and starts looking for details, one discovers that there are none! The proportion of the various ingredients does not require to be mentioned. Similarly there are many electrical/electronic products claiming to be eco-friendly and there is no need to submit such claims to any independent test.
MTR has recently launched multi-grain dosa, oats idli, and a slew of healthy (healthier??)breakfast options, all of them will do well in this 'green wannabe' market, however, how are these dosa's healthier than the original and also how much better (relative benefit) is a clouded area with neither the manufacturer nor the government (any disclosure requirement) giving the consumer any information.
Look at organic products. All high priced and doing extremely well. One can use the expression 'made with organic ingredients if 70% of the product is made from organically grown products. Even to use the expression 'organic' 5% can be pesticides/chemicals as 95% must be free of these.
Another large market is for healthy tea. Must be greater than Rs.500 crore p.a already and growing. There are black,white and green teas, however the most successful health tea brands do not contain any tea leaves at all. Do customers really know this? Should they be informed?
Food product labeling is a very interesting area where manufacturers can ride a large uninformed market until someone does something or the customer understands, usually after the manufacturers have completed overflowing their coffers by selling a healthy dream. That is still fine for other products, however food to me is another matter.
