Meaning-making of Nutri-Level among freshly prepared beverage content creators

Abstract

Background: Indonesia’s Ministry of Health launched Nutri-Level on 14 April 2026, a grading system for freshly prepared beverages that targets sugar intake as a driver of the country’s diabetes burden. Blood glucose testing indicates that 11.7 per cent of residents aged 15 and above are diabetic. Because the scheme is voluntary and starts with large producers, the state relies on advocacy, making content creators its de facto intermediaries. Although research focuses on audience surveys or content audits, it has paid limited attention to the producers who determine the inclusion of nutritional information in posts. Purpose: Examine how content creators interpret Nutri-Level labels when promoting products and how those interpretations shape the communication of a voluntary health policy. Methods: This research used a qualitative single-case design with embedded units and interviewed eight informants: three independent content creators and five beverage business owners who promote their own products. The informants were recruited from four structural positions, defined by how the creator and business identities relate. Semi-structured online interviews followed six thematic blocks. The authors checked each informant’s statements against that informant’s published content and against NoLimit Indonesia media monitoring data from 14 April to 31 August 2026. Results: Three findings held across all eight cases. Content plans left out nutrient profiles. Informants defined healthiness by personal criteria and did not refer to official standards. None had encountered the label in their product category. Four of the eight named diabetes unprompted as a risk of sugary drinks. That knowledge never reached the informants’ content. The informants split into four positions on who bears responsibility for nutritional education. Conclusion: Creators form their own understanding of the policy on their channels before the policy reaches them. Producers may adopt only part of the policy’s meaning. Implications: Managers of voluntary labelling communication must assign specific educational responsibilities and build a channel strategy that reaches creators where they work.