The government will soon make it compulsory for influencers pushing a health or wellness product to disclose their qualifications, since such products may pose a risk to the health and well being of a person who may consume it without proper prior knowledge.
These products involved include an array of skin or hair gummies, protein powders and collagen drinks.
Protecting public wellbeing
Influencers often push such products to a young aspirational consumer base on social media.
The disclosure must be clear and upfront so that consumers are made aware that the product or service being promoted is a paid activity or sponsored.
The intention is to make sure that the public purchasing the products peddled by influencers are doing so based on credible and trustworthy information.
Acting against misinformation
Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary to the Indian government’s department of consumer affairs said, “If you are saying this food is good or bad, that this medicine is good, you must be qualified and disclose that you are qualified to say that.
Otherwise, it can be majorly misleading.”
He also noted that personal care continues to be one of the biggest violators of influencer marketing guidelines.
A booming industry
India’s social media influencer market stood at $155.6 million in 2022, Business Standard reported.
A considerable segment of this is of those giving out health and wellness advice.
These people cash in on the impact of the pandemic and increased health consciousness among the public.
Bollywood
Celebrities such as Mrunal Thakur, Rashmi Desai, and Ayush Mehra have fairly high engagement rates on Instagram in this context but are not necessarily qualified for such endorsements.
Another problem the government is working to address is surrogate advertisements.
These are advertisements disguised as content or promotions.
Nutraceuticals market in India
The wellness/ health or “nutraceuticals” market is a highly lucrative one.
The International Trade Administration projects that by the end of 2025, India’s nutraceuticals market will be worth USD 18 billion, with dietary supplements accounting for 65 percent of the market.
Looking to capture a piece of the highly competitive Indian market, brands resort to grab consumer attention and business by making false and misleading claims to set them apart from the rest
Brands caught by industry body
Industry watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has processed complaints against 155 advertisements this year involving influencers who promoted goods from the nutraceutical sector between April 2022 and February 2023.
Some of these violations came from brands such as OZiva, Power Gummies, Muscle Blaze, Wellbeing Nutrition, and Fast & Up Plant Protein, among others.
