In snack-crazy India, global brands find looming warning labels unappetising

India’s proposal to put ⁠health warning labels on some food products has sparked a nationwide debate over how the country came to rely on cheap packaged food while companies sold more nutritious versions of the same brands in other markets.

With an income per household well below the global average, Indians are keen consumers of cheap food products such as Nestlé-owned Maggi instant noodles and Coca-Cola Co’s Thums Up – giving big food manufacturers a huge market with little pressure to apply the food standards they adopt in many other countries.

Until now.

In a setback to the industry, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said on Thursday it could introduce tougher red warning labels on ‌food that exceeds government-set limits on added sugar, salt or saturated fat in one go, after Supreme Court judges raised questions about FSSAI’s initial plan for a phased introduction.

High sugar content is a particular risk in India, which accounts for about a quarter of all global cases of diabetes, which health experts have blamed partly on processed food. More than 101 million people in India are living with diabetes, while another 136 million have prediabetes, Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk said in July.

India’s packaged food market grew to US$137.25 billion in 2026, from US$129.18 billion in 2025, and is projected to reach US$238.83 billion by 2034, according to research firm IMARC Group.