By RJ Whitehead, Contact the editor, 12-Oct-2012
Last week’s launch of global weightloss major Rapid Nutrition into India saw claims that the company’s Leisa’s Secret scientific programme will be the first of its kind in the country.
That is a big claim in anyone’s book, but when a vast and fast-growing middle-class suffering from well-chronicled issues of obesity provides the backdrop, in a country that is being jealously coveted by international corporations, it is in effect frankly staggering.It’s not as if medically endorsed programmes are not in demand in India—just last week, FoodNavigator-Asia reported on how 80% of urban professional women in the country are overweight. Middle-class Indians, after all, have both the money and the wherewithal to opt for effective solutions.
Taking the easy route
According to Amit Strivastava, Rapid Nutrition’s local promoter, weightloss players have taken the easy route, marketing standalone products accompanied by claims that have not been validated by the medical community.“The market is ruled by pyramid and multilevel companies; their business model is all about economics and nothing to do with science. Consumers try these with little or no results and quickly lose faith,” Strivastava explains.Because of India’s vast geography, he reasons, there is space for everyone, no matter what they claim, and there is a free-for-all when it comes to advertising.“A number of companies focus on packaging and providing huge claims. Many of these claims are international, so there is no way to revalidate them, and no way to find out if they exist or not. People end up trying whatever is available on the market out of desperation.”
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