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| Dynamic image of Red Bull energy drink cans with water droplets in colorful lighting. |
India Holds Firm on Energy Drink Label Deadline
NEW DELHI — August 7, 2026
India's food safety regulator plans to keep a 90-day deadline for beverage companies to remove the term “energy drink” from certain high-caffeine products, despite requests from major companies for more time. The decision could create problems for companies holding large amounts of existing stock.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has told companies that high-caffeine beverages cannot be marketed as “energy drinks” because India does not have specific standards for products using that description. Companies including PepsiCo, Red Bull, Monster Beverage and Reliance Consumer Products have asked for a longer period to make the required changes.
The companies are seeking at least one year, according to people familiar with the discussions. They say they have millions of cans and bottles already in the market, while some imported packaging has also been ordered and could take time to replace.
The government, however, believes existing supplies can be sold within 60 to 90 days. A government official said several Indian states had indicated that current stocks could be cleared during that period.
The official also said companies had not provided FSSAI with sufficient state-by-state information about their inventories. Such information is important for tracking products through the supply chain, the official said.
Industry representatives argue that calculating stocks across India's large and widely distributed market is difficult because of the volume of products involved. They are also concerned about enforcement actions by state authorities while the companies work to change their labels.
The dispute comes as India's beverage market continues to expand. Sales of energy drinks have been growing rapidly, with retail volumes estimated at 907 million litres last year. The market has grown particularly quickly since PepsiCo introduced Sting in India in 2017, with its low-priced bottles becoming popular among younger consumers and in rural areas.
State-level enforcement has already begun. Rajasthan authorities seized thousands of bottles of PepsiCo's Sting, Reliance's Campa Energy and Red Bull products last month as part of inspections related to labelling rules. Officials in Ladakh have also said that products would be seized during checks of retailers and distributors.
The companies have asked the government to stop such seizures while they seek more time to comply with the new labelling requirements. Executives from PepsiCo, Red Bull and Monster also raised their concerns with Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan during a meeting on Tuesday.
Paswan said his ministry was committed to supporting investment, innovation and employment in the sector, but did not give details about the government's position on the companies' request.
The issue also comes amid wider scrutiny of high-caffeine beverages in several countries. Some regulators have raised concerns about ingredients such as caffeine, sugar and taurine. England, for example, plans to prohibit the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 from April next year.
For beverage companies operating in India, the immediate challenge is to manage existing products while meeting the regulator's labelling requirements. Unless the government changes its position, companies will have to work within the 90-day period rather than the one-year extension they requested.
