FSSAI gives high-caffeine drink brands 90 days to remove ‘energy drink’ labels

Pepsi, Red Bull, Monster, Reliance and other high-caffeine beverage makers must revise packaging under FSSAI’s directive. Rajasthan has begun enforcement and curtailed e-commerce promotion, creating an immediate compliance and merchandising issue across retail channels.

— Source publishedMon, 27 Jul, 2026, 18:58 IST·First seen Mon, 27 Jul, 2026, 19:01 IST·Source Mint

What happened

FSSAI has ordered high-caffeine beverage makers to remove 'energy drink' claims from labels, affecting Pepsi, Red Bull, Monster and Reliance. Companies have 90

Key facts

  • 90 days to revise labels
  • Energy drinks market projected at $1.6 billion by 2028
  • 12.6% projected annual growth
  • Sales volumes nearly doubled annually between 2018 and 2023

Why this matters

Build FSSAI labeling exposure, reformulation capability, packaging-change costs and state-level enforcement risk into beverage target diligence and valuation assumptions.

What to watch

  • FSSAI clarification on acceptable replacement terminology, label language, caffeine-warning format, and treatment of existing inventory.
  • Additional state enforcement notices, especially in large consumption markets and states with active food-safety inspections.
  • Amazon, Flipkart, quick-commerce, and grocery-platform changes to product titles, advertising eligibility, age gates, or category placement.
  • Retailer requests for supplier indemnities, compliance certificates, revised barcodes, or new product-master data.
  • Any move from terminology enforcement toward caffeine thresholds, serving-size caps, warning-label requirements, or restrictions on marketing to minors.
  • Sales shifts from high-caffeine cans toward sports drinks, flavored water, cold coffee, energy shots, and lower-caffeine functional beverages.
  • Audit all packaging, product titles, marketplace listings, search keywords, shelf tags, and retailer catalog taxonomy for prohibited 'energy drink' language.
  • Prioritize Rajasthan inventory segregation and retailer communication to avoid enforcement-led delistings or blocked e-commerce promotions.
  • Create replacement consumer messaging around taste, refreshment, performance, electrolytes, vitamins, or caffeine disclosure without making non-compliant health or energy claims.
  • Prepare dual inventory plans: compliant packs for new dispatches and controlled sell-through, withdrawal, or relabeling procedures for legacy stock.
  • Retailers should create a compliant caffeinated-beverages category rather than rely on legacy energy-drink navigation, planograms, and promotional filters.
  • Monitor whether competitors use the transition to gain shelf space through lower-caffeine, hydration, sports-drink, coffee, or functional-beverage positioning.

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