6 food label tricks brands use to fool you

Why You Can’t Shop Blind

You pick up a pack of biscuits that says “High Fiber.”

A juice carton that says “No Added Sugar.”

A pack of chips that claims “Baked, Not Fried.”

Feels safe, right? That’s exactly the plan. Brands know most people never flip the pack or read the fine print. They just trust the front label. And the front label? It’s designed by marketing teams, not nutritionists.

👉 The result: you think you’re buying healthy, but you’re not.

In this blog, we’ll expose 6 of the biggest label tricks brands use in India to fool you - with real examples, explanations, and what to watch for.

Tick 1: The “No Added Sugar” Loophole

This one is everywhere - juices, biscuits, energy bars.

• What you see: “No Added Sugar”
  

• What it really means: They didn’t add white sugar, but they added fruit concentrates, jaggery, honey, maltodextrin, or glucose syrup.
  
  

Example:

A juice box says “No Added Sugar. Made with Real Fruit.”

Flip it, and you’ll see 10% fruit concentrate + water + stabilizers.

Result? One glass has ~25 g sugar - the same as cola.

👉 For diabetics, this is especially dangerous.

Trick 2: The “Healthy Sugar” Myth

Brands know Indians trust “natural” and “desi.” That’s why you see biscuits and drinks made with:

• Jaggery (gur)
  

• Honey
  

• Brown sugar
  

• Coconut sugar
  

• Date syrup
  
  

They sound healthy, but here’s the truth:

• Jaggery has a higher GI than sugar.
  

• Honey is 80% sugar.
  

• Brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses.
  

👉 They spike blood sugar the same way. The only thing healthier is the brand’s sales.

Trick 3: The Serving Size Scam

This one’s sneaky.

• A biscuit packet says: “Only 70 calories per serving.”
   But serving = 2 biscuits. Who eats only 2?
  

• A juice bottle says: “Per serving: 90 calories, 20 g sugar.”
  Serving size = 100 ml. The bottle = 300 ml.
  
  

👉 Always check per 100 g/ml values - that’s the global standard.

Trick 4: The “Low Fat” Trap

For decades, fat was demonized. Brands responded with “low-fat” everything: yogurt, snacks, milk powders.

• What they don’t tell you: when fat is removed, food tastes bland. So they add sugar and stabilizers to fix it.
  

• A “low-fat yogurt” often has more sugar than ice cream.
  
  

👉 Fat isn’t always bad. But hidden sugar is.

Trick 5: The Fiber & Protein Halo

Biscuits that say “High Fiber” or energy bars that say “High Protein” sound great. But flip the pack:

• A digestive biscuit may have only 1–2 g fiber per 100 g.
  

• A protein bar may have 12 g sugar and only 6 g protein.
  
  

👉 If sugar outweighs fiber or protein, it’s not healthy - no matter what the label screams.

Trick 6: The “Natural & Organic” Illusion

“Natural” and “organic” are the easiest words to misuse.

• Natural: Even refined sugar can legally be called natural because it comes from sugarcane.
  

• Organic: Organic jaggery is still sugar. Organic cola is still cola.
  
  

👉 Don’t confuse “organic” with “nutritious.” It just means fewer pesticides, not fewer calories or sugar.

Case Studies from Indian Shelves

Case 1: Breakfast Cereal

Front: “Whole Grain. High in Iron & Vitamins.”

Back: Corn, sugar, glucose syrup.

Reality: ~28 g sugar per 100 g = dessert for breakfast.

Case 2: Flavored Yogurt

Front: “Low Fat. Real Fruit.”

Back: Skimmed milk, sugar, fruit puree.

Reality: ~18 g sugar per cup.

Case 3: Children’s Health Drink

Front: “Boosts Immunity & Growth.”

Back: Sugar, maltodextrin, cocoa solids.

Reality: ~12 g sugar per serving.

How to Outsmart These Tricks

1. Ignore the front. It’s advertising, not nutrition.
   

2. Flip the pack. Check ingredients + nutrition table.
   

3. Look for sugar aliases. Concentrates, syrups, jaggery, honey = sugar.
   

4. Check per 100 g/ml. Don’t trust serving size.
   

5. Short list = better. More than 8–10 additives = ultra-processed.
   
   

EPRA Farms: No Tricks, Just Transparency

We built EPRA Farms because we were tired of these games. Our monk fruit products are:

• Monk fruit + erythritol.
  

• No jaggery, no concentrates, no syrups.
  

• No “sugar-free” gimmicks with maltodextrin.
  

👉 When we say clean label, we mean it.

Conclusion: Labels Don’t Lie, Marketing Does

The front of the pack is designed to make you feel good. The back of the pack is where the truth hides.

👉 Learn the tricks:

• “No added sugar” = sugar by another name.
  

• “Low fat” = high sugar.
  

• “Healthy sugar” = still sugar.
  

• “High fiber/protein” = check the grams.
  

• “Natural/organic” = doesn’t mean healthy.
  

• “Serving size” = illusion.
  

Once you know these 6 tricks, you’ll never shop the same way again.