• India's ban on "energy drink" labels has ignited a fierce legal battle with PepsiCo and Monster, impacting a rapidly growing market Published October 1, 2026 Updated about 11 hours ago NEW DELHI: PepsiCo and Monster Beverage have sued India’s food regulator for banning their use of the “energy drink” label, non-public court filings show, escalating a regulatory fight that has jolted a sector expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028. The food safety regulator ordered makers of high-caffeine beverages sold as “energy drinks” to stop using the description on June 30 amid growing concerns about the health risk of such products - part of an unprecedented food safety crackdown. In a court filing in New Delhi, PepsiCo India said the prohibition will have “grave commercial consequences” and hurt “substantial investments”, given that it had 492 million bottles and 26 million cans with those labels in circulation on July 31. PepsiCo was not given an opportunity to explain its position before the directive, and so the decision should be set aside, said the 358-page September 29 filing, which is not public and has not appeared in media but was seen by Reuters. The regulator privately gave the companies 90 days to drop “energy drink”, or any similar description, from high-caffeine beverages, saying that using that term breached regulations, Reuters has reported. The company filings say several Indian states began seizing the stock straight away. India busts firm faking expiry dates, nutrition labels on PepsiCo, Nestle food exports More challenges, relief for some firms The energy drink market in India boomed after PepsiCo launched Sting in 2017, with its 20-rupee ($0.21) plastic bottles proving popular among 15- to 19-year-olds and in rural areas, Euromonitor says. PepsiCo also sells its energy drink Adrenaline Rush in the market. In the…