India’s food regulator has refused to soften its stance on the labelling of so-called “energy drinks”, dealing a significant regulatory setback to leading beverage makers, including PepsiCo, Reliance Consumer Products, Coca-Cola-backed Monster, Red Bull and others.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has given companies a 90-day window to remove the term “Energy Drink” from product labels after rejecting the industry’s request for relief. The decision reinforces the regulator’s position that no food standard currently exists for an “energy drink” category, making such branding and related functional claims non-compliant under existing food laws.
The move follows notices issued on July 1 to six major brands—Red Bull Energy Drink, PepsiCo’s Adrenaline Rush, Reliance Consumer Products’ Campa Energy Drink-Gold Boost, Sting Energy Drink, Hell Energy and Coca-Cola-backed Monster Energy—for alleged misbranding and misleading claims.
According to industry sources, representatives of the Indian Beverage Association (IBA) met senior FSSAI officials last week in an attempt to seek reconsideration of the order. Officials from state food safety departments, including Gujarat and Maharashtra, also attended the meeting. However, the industry failed to secure any relaxation, with the regulator maintaining its original position while allowing companies additional time to redesign and replace packaging.
The beverage industry had requested more time primarily to manage the transition to new packaging materials. While the regulator has granted a 90-day compliance period, the exact implementation timeline has not been officially confirmed.
FSSAI has made it clear that the Food Category System under its regulations is not intended to be used as a basis for product naming or front-of-pack branding. Since no notified standard exists for “energy drinks”, the authority considers the descriptor misleading.
The regulator has also reiterated that food products cannot carry functional or therapeutic claims such as “boosts energy”, “enhances focus”, “vitalises body and mind”, or claims suggesting relief from weakness, as these are not permitted under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the regulations framed under it.
The decision marks another assertive step in FSSAI’s broader crackdown on misleading food labelling and marketing practices. Coming close on the heels of the suspension of Westend Agro Products’ licence over alleged relabelling and expiry-date manipulation, the regulator is signalling stricter enforcement across India’s packaged food and beverage sector.
For beverage companies, the order could trigger widespread packaging revisions and marketing strategy changes, particularly in the fast-growing functional beverage segment, where “energy” positioning has long been central to brand identity. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, manufacturers may increasingly have to rely on compliant nutritional disclosures rather than promotional claims to differentiate their products.