Influencer deletes video on Bournvita’s high sugar content after legal notice from Cadbury

An influencer was forced to take down his viral video highlighting the sugar content in Bournvita chocolate ‘health’ drink after receiving a legal notice from manufacturer Cadbury.

Revant Himatsingka had shared an Instagram Reels video calling out Cadbury for advertising Bournvita as a health drink despite its high sugar content. "Should the government allow companies to blatantly lie on their package? Parents are getting their children addicted to sugar at a young age, and the children end up craving sugar throughout their lives," Himatsingka captioned the video, which had amassed more than 12 million views on Instagram by the time it was deleted.

In his video from April 1, the Instagram user, who goes by Food Pharmer online, had criticised Cadbury for misrepresenting the product’s “nutritional value.” He remarked that the brand’s tagline of “tayyari jeet ki” should instead be changed to “tayyari diabetes ki.”

But in a statement shared on April 14, Himatsingka said he decided to take the video down after receiving a legal notice from “one of India’s biggest law firms on 13th April, 2023.”

“I apologise to Cadbury for making the video. I did not plan or intend to infringe any trademark or defame any company, nor do I have the interest or resources to participate in any court cases,” he wrote.

Cadbury Bournvita had issued a clarification after the video gained traction on social media. “Bournvita contains nutrients namely Vitamin A, C, D, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Selenium which help build immunity. These have been part of our formulation for several years. We have always called out ‘Helps with the healthy functioning of the immune system’ on the back of our pack for several years (even before the Covid-19 pandemic),” the brand said.