Revant Himatsingka

Revant Himatsingka
Instagram information
Also known as	FoodPharmer
Page	foodpharmer
Genre(s)	Health and nutrition
Followers	2.7 million
Contents are in	Hindi, English
YouTube information
Channel	@Foodpharmer
Subscribers	940,000
Updated: 22 October 2024

Revant Himatsingka, better known as FoodPharmer, is an Indian health and nutrition influencer. He is known for spreading awareness on clean eating choices and reading of food labels in a humorous manner. He was ranked 15th in Forbes India's Top 100 Digital Stars list of 2024.

Early and personal life

Revant Himatsingka was born into a Kolkata-based upper-middle-class Marwari family. His father was a business owner and mother was a homemaker. He completed his schooling from Don Bosco School, Park Circus. He graduated in finance from NYU Stern School of Business and did his MBA from the The Wharton School. He then worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, during which time he also completed a course in nutrition. He has authored a book and has delivered TEDx talks, and speeches at several educational institutions.

He quit his job in April 2023 and returned to Kolkata after 13 years in the US. He has since moved to Mumbai due to its status as India's financial capital and due to the tediousness of travelling across from Kolkata to speak at various functions and events there. He is in a long-distance relationship with his wife who works in the US. He and his family sometimes feel concerned due to financial, legal and potential physical threats due to the nature of his work.

Career

Himatsingka initially began his social media career to promote his book, Selfienomics, and used to post content completely different from the ones he now makes as FoodPharmer. His current alias, "FoodPharmer", is the concatenation of the words "Food" and "Pharmer", itself a portmanteau of "pharma" and "farmer".

After quitting his US job, on 1st April 2023 he posted a video on Bournvita's high sugar content and its impact on children. He claimed that the product marketed as a health drink for children contains almost 50% sugar and adversely impacts the health of children, addicts them to sugar at a young age and promotes diabetes. He was served a legal notice from Mondelez, the parent company of Bournvita, and forced him to take the video down. His Twitter account was also permanently suspended. However, his video went viral over social media with over 12 million views on Instagram before being taken down. It also earned him over 100 thousand followers within a few days on the platform. It was shared by several celebrities, politicians and also featured in various TV news channels. In response to this, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights ordered Bournvita to withdraw its misleading packaging and advertisements, and the Indian government ordered that it be removed from 'health drinks' category on e-commerce sites. Bournvita eventually relented and reduced sugar content in the product.

He continued making videos critical of several FMCGs such as Dabur, Lay's, Knorr, Nestle, Kissan, Nutella, Pepsi, among others, and earned more than a million followers on Instagram in six months. His movement has been backed by several experts and promoted by some celebrities. Many companies have since reduced sugar content in their products and marketers have changed their taglines as a response to his videos, all while he has been served with numerous lawsuits from several brands including Dabur and PepsiCo.

Following a joint report by Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network that Nestle's Cerelac has significantly higher sugar content in economically disadvantaged regions, including in India, as compared to Europe, Himatsingka stressed the need for stricter enforcement rules in India as in Europe. He also raised his concerns about the high sodium content of upma, poha and dal chawal in IndiGo flights. He stated that high altitude reduces the sensitivity of taste buds, thus most airlines add excess salt to the food but also recognised that high sodium may result in hypertension, heart and kidney issues. The airline said that its food products maintain strict quality standards and follows all FSSAI guidelines. He has also criticised the use of maida in breads and biscuits, sugar in ketchup and flavoured drinks for children, use of palm oil, and several other products.

He has accused pharmacies of selling fake oral rehydration solution. He claimed that pharmacies often sell drinks that do not follow WHO-recommended standards instead of actual ORS. He said that such drinks are often approved by the FSSAI but have high sugar and low electrolytes compared to actual ORS as recommended by the WHO.

He is operating his movement from his savings in the US. He has declined offers from several companies to promote their products. He scripts and shoots his videos by himself, and has one employee. He relies upon pro-bono lawyers to fight the lawsuits against him. Some people have also expressed their willingness to donate to his cause.

Campaigns and initiatives

He launched several campaigns to promote a healthier lifestyle such as Label Padhega India, Indian Steps Premier League, Sugar Board movement, and Water bell movement.

Impact and influence

He was ranked 15th in Forbes India's Top 100 Digital Stars list of 2024. He was one of the creators nominated in "Disrupter of the Year" category at the National Creators Award 2024, but he did not eventually win.

Mondelez

Following the virality of his first video in April 2023, critical of sugar content in Bournvita, which is marketed as a health drink for children, its parent company, Mondelez, sent a legal notice to Himatsingka calling his video 'unscientific' and accusing him of 'distorting facts' forcing him to take the video down and issue a public apology. The company further contended that Bournvita contains "vitamins A, C, D, Iron, Zinc, Copper, and Selenium which help build immunity" and that the suggested serving contains much less sugar than the recommended daily sugar intake for children. The company asserted that the formulation was created by food scientists and nutritionists and that all regulations have been followed. However, the Indian government and NCPCR intervened and ordered Bournvita to withdraw misleading promotional material. The company eventually reduced sugar content in the drink by 14.4%, from 37.4 grams of added sugar per 100 grams of powder to 32.2 grams per 100 grams, in December 2023. Regarding his videos on Mondelez's Bournvita and Tang, the Delhi High Court, in its interim order, has stated that Himatsingka may continue making factual statements in his videos or posts, but may not create 'disparaging' videos on the company and its products.

Health drinks

The NCPCR has prohibited the use of the term "health drink" for beverages consumed by children that have added flavours. This has resulted in the removal of Bournvita, Horlicks and several other beverages from the "health drink" category.

Packaged juice

He criticised the usage of "100% juice" label used by Real to market its products despite not being 100% fruit juice. Real's parent company Dabur reacted by sending him a legal notice. Meanwhile, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India banned the use of "100% juice" label on these products.

Ketchup

As a response to his criticism of sugar content in Maggi's Rich Tomato Ketchup, Nestle announced a change in the recipe of the product to reduce sugar by 22% and to have more tomatoes in it than sugar.

Chips

His criticism of Lay's chips resulted in the company switching to sunflower oil for producing chips.