Healthy Meals or Just Good Marketing?

With the popularization of healthy eating concepts, more and more consumers are paying attention to body management, and their dietary habits are shifting towards light meals and meal replacement products. On food delivery e-commerce platforms, various products promoting low calorie and fat reducing meals are constantly emerging, from meal replacement milkshakes, energy bars to offline light meal packages, attracting a large number of people who want to control their weight. However, do these products truly have health benefits and nutritional value as advertised?

Many consumers choose meal replacement products because they are convenient and quick, requiring only heating or tearing. Combined with strong marketing campaigns, many products promise to easily achieve weight loss by simply changing dietary habits, making them popular among those seeking quick and hassle free weight loss. However, some consumers have reported a gap between their actual experience and the promotion.

Ms. Yue, a consumer, said that she had purchased a popular meal replacement energy bar online. The merchant once advertised that using only a 25 gram energy bar instead of breakfast is enough to maintain a full morning. She hopes to achieve her weight loss goal by replacing daily meals with this product.

“At first, I thought it was very convenient and didn't have a high calorie content. But after eating it for about two hours, I would start feeling hungry. Despite adding chia seeds that are rich in satiety, the portion size was too small, and in the end, I would still eat other foods."she said.

Source: Shopee Malaysia (Author’s screenshot)

In addition to meal replacement products, Light Food Studio, an e-commerce store selling healthy light meals, is also becoming increasingly popular. Compared to fast meal replacement products, light meals are usually made with natural ingredients such as chicken breast, boiled eggs, vegetables, salmon, etc., which look healthier and closer to a normal diet.

Mr. Qin, a consumer, said that he has tried online meal replacement products and often purchases set meals from Light Food Studio. “If we only look at calories, light meals may indeed be lower than regular meals, but the price is also higher. Compared to meal replacement products promoted by online merchants, light meals are more satiety and have more balanced nutrition. "he said.

For the sake of visual experience, a light food merchant with high sales was selected for comparison on the Grab platform, and it was found that their package prices were not low, mostly between 28 and 30 ringgit, and even more expensive than some regular meals. Merchants will label the calorie content of each meal on the page, which is approximately between 460 and 550 calories.

Although it has slightly lower calories compared to regular meals, the difference is not significant. This is because light meals are usually paired with seasonings such as salad dressing to balance taste, which invisibly increases some calories. Compared to processed meal replacement products sold online, light meal sets have more advantages in terms of satiety and nutrition. They usually use fresh chicken, eggs, and vegetables as ingredients, which are paired with the main course to provide a relatively stronger sense of satiety.

Source: GrabFood Malaysia (Author’s screenshot)

However, this does not mean that all light meals are healthier. Some light food studios, in order to create a low calorie concept, have smaller portions and consumers may still feel hungry after eating, ultimately requiring them to consume other foods, resulting in an increase in actual calorie intake.

With the diversification of the healthy food market, consumers' demands for products are also increasing. Whether it is meal replacement products or light meals, we should not only rely on the merchant's promotion, but also consider factors such as calories, nutrition, price, and satiety comprehensively.