Label Padhega India' campaign, an important step in building domestic consumer activism and fostering awareness, underscores the inherent issues related to product labelling locally. Still, products aimed at more sensitive consumer segments, such as children, may undergo greater manufacturer scrutiny.
«Label Padhega India campaign has the potential to become the second largest consumer campaign after the 'Jaago Grahak Jaago' campaign by the Indian government,» said Harish Bijoor, brand strategy specialist. «However, for that to happen, the digital marketing has to be strong. Companies will not pay heed to the campaign until it gains larger traction and manages to yield a change in consumer behaviour. The onus on the influencers is to garner traction for the campaign by advertising it on a larger scale across media.»
Product labelling in India faces several issues — ranging from non-compliance with the regulations, language barriers, misinformation and misleading claims, inconsistent labelling standards, illegible labels, lack of transparency, inadequate enforcement of the labelling regulations and imported goods not meeting the Indian labelling standards.
«The campaign is an effective step in the right direction with its timing being right — coming days after the Supreme Court strictures on Patanjali and its founders for misleading advertisements,» said business strategist and FMCG industry expert Lloyd Mathias. «However, there are issues with product labelling in India.»
Consumers, globally, do not generally