Products align with FSSAI norms, new items with less sugar in the works: Nestle India MD

Nestle India chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Nestle India's Chairman and MD Suresh Narayanan has reaffirmed that its products are aligned with the regulations of the land, and the company will provide all necessary information that food safety regulator FSSAI requires.

Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Suresh Narayanan said there hasn't been any formal communication from FSSAI, but the regulator has suggested that they may pick some food samples of Nestle India as well as other manufacturers for testing.

When asked about the reason behind the divergence of sugar content in baby food across various geographies, Narayanan explained that every formulation has a nutritional profile that each serve offers the child. “In the case of infant formula, there is no sugar added so the only brand in question is Cerelac. To the best of our knowledge, there is no test for added sugar. It now depends on FSSAI how it wants to take this forward.”

We are transparent and we have nothing to hide, said Narayanan.

Nestle India to focus on driving volume growth going forward

Recently, a report by Public Eye said the FMCG major was adding more sugar in developing countries compared to European markets and the US.

On concerns that more sugar was being added in India and other developing countries, Narayanan said that the nutritional profile of every formulation is determined globally for children below 18 months. He said it can’t be determined separately in India.

The FMCG major’s top executive further said that the permissible limits for added sugar, according to FSSAI, is 13.6 gm per 100 gm of servings. “Our products have 7.1 gm per 100 gm, which is about 50 percent of the total permissible levels of added sugar. We have already reduced it by 30 percent over the last 5 years.” He added that Europe and Asia have both products with added sugar and without sugar and each region is offered products with nutritional values adhering to local habits and rules.

But if the company already has products with no added sugar in its stable, why can’t it bring to India, instead of going for gradual reduction of the sweetener. The Nestle India boss said it’s not that simple, while saying that new products with less sugar are in the offing.

“We can’t bring their products here like that. As of now, we are already testing new recipes with lower levels of sugar,” Narayanan said.

However, the composition of ingredients in Nestle products are also different in different regions for adult food items such as KitKat. Narayanan defended and said, “The samosa in the north and the south are different. Every food product doesn’t have to have the same ingredients. The recipes are made according to the local requirements of tastes and costs.”

Separately, Narayanan told PTI that the firm will focus on volume growth going forward, in a market which is "still impacted by inflation".

Nestle India's objective is clearly to accelerate volume growth, he said adding the company had "a volume growth of almost 8-9 percent of a total growth of 11-12 percent" from 2016 to 2022.

In the fiscal ended March 31, 2024, he said the company clocked "about 9 percent domestic sales growth. The underlying volume (growth) to that is about 4-5 percent".