'100% pure, no sugar adulteration,' says Dabur in 3-minute film about the way honey is sourced

What does a honey maker do after aspersions have been cast on its purity? For starters, it advertises. It's been around a month since Dabur woke up to doubts about whether its honey is pure, thanks to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). In a long form ad film, the team tries hard to dispel all doubts, by showing us the journey of honey from beehives in the forest to our urban breakfast table.

Replete with beautiful visuals and mesmerising music, the film shows local honey collectors, braving the odds and sourcing honey from the forests of the Sundarban, West Bengal. The last shot is dramatised to show honey falling from the hive, into a cup of tea. The film ends with a super on the screen that reads: ‘100 per cent pure, No sugar adulteration’.

The Sunderban is the largest mangrove forest in the world. Conceptualised by Ice Media, the film shows us how a group of honey collectors - Gopal Mondal (leader), Krishna Mondal, Rajkumar Bairagi, and others - scour these jungles, tracing the honey trail.

Sharing the ad on YouTube, the brand wrote: “Before the culture of beehive farming, people used to hunt the honeycombs and extract honey from them. This practice is still followed in the jungles of Sunderban, where people from certain groups go, risking their lives to bring out the purest honey for you.”

Industry speaks:

Aalap Desai, NCD, Happy McGarryBowen India, feels that Dabur is one of the few brands that can strongly claim “100% Natural Honey” in India. “With doubts about the quality, the consumer often needs a slight nudge to convince them for something they already believe in. The film, with beautiful visuals and authentic stories, does just that,” he opines.

According to Desai, the conversation is unique and origin stories are a lovely way to showcase what goes into sourcing the product. “It gives the consumer the right amount of assurance. And, that’s what they need right now,” he says.