Horlicks blinks as kids favour less sugar to 'taller, stronger, sharper'

Malted milk drinks, which are as much as one-third sugar, have been breakfast staples of upwardly mobile families in India since soldiers brought GlaxoSmithKline's Horlicks back with them after WW1

For a century, children in India have been brought up on malt-flavoured powdered milk drinks that they thought would help make them healthy and strong. Now the $1 billion industry is set for a shake-up after two of the biggest producers, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Kraft Heinz Co. put the businesses up for sale and consumers switch to drinks with less sugar.

Malted milk drinks, which are as much as one-third sugar, have been breakfast staples of upwardly mobile families in India since soldiers brought GlaxoSmithKline’s Horlicks back with them after the First World War. Now, after a decade of double-digit