Half a year after dealing with backlash regarding the presence of sugar content in Cerelac, Nestle India revealed the introduction of its baby food that contains no added refined sugar.
The chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan announced, “We have achieved our ambition of introducing ‘Cerelac’ variants with no refined sugar.”
This initiative began three years ago and has resulted in the launch of new Cerelac variants this year that contain no refined sugar, he mentioned. The Cerelac lineup in India will now feature 21 variants, with 14 of them being free from refined sugar. Out of these 14 variants, seven are set to be available by the end of November, while the remaining ones will be coming out in the upcoming weeks.
In April, the major Fast Moving Consumer Goods company (FMCG) faced a long investigation following a report from Public Eye, a Swiss investigative group and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), which alleged that the Nestle’s Cerelac baby cereal products available in India contains added sugar. In contrast, the report also stated that the companies in Europe are against from adding any sugar to its infant nutrition products.
Narayanan stated, “Despite a challenging external environment with muted consumer demand and high commodity prices especially for coffee and cocoa, we remained resilient in our pursuit to deliver growth. This quarter, five of our top 12 brands grew at double-digit.”
The company announced a consolidated net profit of Rs 899 crore for the second quarter ending September 30th 2024, which is a slight decrease from the Rs 908 crore reported during the same period last year. Sales increased by over 1%, reaching Rs 5,075 crore. Certain key brands faced challenges due to weaker consumer demand, prompting us to focus on these areas and implement strong action plans. Over the past nine months, 65% of our top 12 brands, including Maggi noodles, experienced positive volume growth, he added. The beverages sector also performed well, achieving high double-digit growth.
Nestlé India also stated that the amount of added sugar in Cerelac was lower than the usual allowances set by FSSAI and that it adhered to local food regulations. The company also mentioned that it had decreased added sugars by 30% over the past five years. Narayanan further noted that Cerelac is celebrating its 50th year in India, having produced its first batch at its main factory in Moga, Punjab, on September 15, 1975.
The few of new variants of Cerelac without refined sugar is now available at market with more varieties yet to come.