Late last year, Reliance announced a partnership with motorsport team Ajith Kumar Racing, with its brand Campa Gold Boost Energy signing up as official energy partner of the team, promoted by its Tamil movie star.
Meanwhile, category leader Red Bull’s high-decibel marketing in India has flexed its Formula 1 connection with F1 cars on the road in Delhi and Mumbai, to malls in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kochi.
It’s a unique category, defined by the descriptor energy drink. It is that term that is now controversial.
On July 1, 2026, India’s food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered Red Bull, Sting, Adrenaline Rush, Campa Gold Boost, Hell Energy, and Monster to drop the word ‘energy’ in their labels, marketing, and ads within 90 days, citing that it doesn’t recognise the category.
According to the regulator, category standards haven’t been defined and claims such as ‘vitalises body and mind’ can mislead consumers.With distributors, especially in cities, already refusing to pick up stocks ahead of the 90-day deadline, chaos prevails in trade circles, with some state authorities confiscating existing stock from warehouses. And just like that, the future of a market of an estimated 2 billion-plus cans and PET bottles, with marketing spends of over Rs 2,000 crore annually, hangs in the balance.
A Caffeinated Clash
The chaos comes even as the category is growing in double digits. IMARC Group estimated the market at $1.5 billion in 2025, and to grow to $2.9 billionby 2034. Youth, low prices, aggressive marketing – all are contributing to it. That growth is now facing headwinds.
Also Read: Pepsi seeks to take ‘Sting’ out of FSSAI order, drops energy label
The way out offered by the FSSAI is simple. At what was an animated meeting between key officials and companies on July 24, FSSAI told brands to label them as ‘caffeinated beverages’.
The category isn’t buying into this solution. “Lack of a clearly defined product (nomenclature) would further confuse people, as caffeinated beverages could mean anything from a soda to a coffee,” a senior executive representing a large brand told Brand Equity, requesting not to be identified.
His argument is that with no unique description, consumers won’t know what they’re buying, even if they substitute ‘energy’ with something else. “We can’t expect consumers to ask for a ‘power’ drink or a ‘stimulator’ in stores. And we’re not sure if that’ll be allowed or not,” he added.
Experts reckon there will be an impact on category expansion. Santosh Desai, brand consultant and social commentator, said: “Some of the brands are well-established, so consumers know what they’re buying. Recruiting new consumers to the category would be where the impact would be more.”
Even so, it looks like some brands are opting to comply, even as others push back.
PepsiCo said late Monday that it is dropping the word energy for Sting. A spokesperson told ET that it is complying “with the applicable regulatory standards for its energy drinks category and continues to align its packaging and labelling with evolving regulatory requirements”.
Red Bull directed ET’s email queries to the Indian Beverage Association (IBA), which counts Red Bull, PepsiCo and Reliance as members. It has written to FSSAI CEO Rajit Punhani, urging for a “consultative and risk-based approach before enforcement”.
“Several beverage companies have developed, manufactured, and marketed products based on registrations and category approval granted under the existing regulatory framework. It would be appropriate to provide affected operators an opportunity to present their technical and legal position before enforcement measures are initiated,” IBA secretary general Gunveena Chadha, said in the letter, which BE reviewed.
Clipped Wings
Nonetheless, BE has learned that advertising partners of some of these brands have been asked to re-do campaigns and work on fresh labelling without the word ‘energy’.
For companies like Red Bull, this will have an impact. “With Red Bull’s long-standing ‘Gives You Wiiings’ campaign around which it centres all its marketing, events, associations with motorsports, and dance events, the entire brand repositioning could be a significant setback,” said a senior ad agency executive.
Brands like Red Bull and Sting have spent millions on F1 – widely known to be the world’s most expensive sport. The former has its own teams, while Sting Energy drink, along with Gatorade and Doritos, signed a global partnership with F1. The marketing has been aggressive in India. So far, cans of Sting Energy, which overtook flagship Pepsi cola as the company’s fastest growing brand two years back with affordable Rs 20 pricing, flex itself as the ‘official energy drink’ of F1.
All of that now needs reworking.
Regulatory Tangle
While FSSAI has refused an extension, companies claim the move shows inconsistency.
“The same ministry had said we could use the word ‘energy’ just two years back. Even our New Year packs are ready with the current labelling. It takes, on average, a year to transit to new labels and marketing for a category as widespread as energy drinks,” a company executive claimed.
In 2016, the FSSAI had set limits for caffeine content in energy drinks at a maximum of 300 mg per litre, making it mandatory for companies to disclose details on labels. In April 2024, the regulator had notified companies that ‘energy drinks’ as a term was permitted for products licensed as ‘caffeinated beverages’.
FSSAI and Reliance did not respond to emailed queries. Executives at Monster and Hell energy drinks could not be reached for comments.
Many countries have riders on energy drinks citing concerns about over-caffeinated youngsters. In the UK, from April next year, selling high-caffeine energy drinks to individuals under 16 will be banned. Across Europe sales to individuals under 18 is restricted.
Kuwait, too, restricted sales to adults last year, and limited it to designated areas in supermarkets. In Pakistan, they need to be sold as ‘stimulant drinks’.
India, it appears, is following the latter’s model of leaning on semantics, even if the intent is to push back on over-caffeination, leaving the category at something of a crossroads.