SG govt to have even tighter ad measures for sugary drinks

The minister for health Ong Ye Kung shared that from 30 December this year, prepacked beverages with higher sugar and saturated fat must be labeled with a Nutri-Grade mark. He stated that more than half of Singaporeans’ daily sugar intake comes from beverages, of which prepacked beverages such as can and packet drinks, contribute nearly two-thirds.

MOH has introduced mandatory nutrition labeling and advertising prohibition measures for prepacked beverages. The Nutri-Grade mark is a “neutral or even nice name”, the message to consumers is to avoid drinks with a Nutri-Grade mark that indicates a high level of sugar. Now, those with the highest level of sugar and saturated fat are also prohibited from advertising.

Another fun fact is Southeast Asia spent US$3.7 billion in 2021 on both bubble tea and similar “new tea” drinks.

Indonesia’s bubble tea industry ranked first in terms of market size among all Southeast Asian nations — with an annual turnover of US$1.6 billion.

This was followed by Thailand with an annual turnover of US$749 million through its more than 31,000 bubble tea stores and other retail channels.

Singapore, being the smallest nation in the region, came in fourth with an annual turnover of US$342 million, just behind Vietnam at US$362 million.