Reliance sues India's food regulator over 'energy drink' label ban

Reliance Industries has filed a writ petition against India's food safety regulator over its order barring the Campa products from being marketed as energy drinks, according to Business Recorder, which cited a Reuters review of non-public court filings. The petition, dated October 1, challenges a June 30 directive from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which tells high-caffeine drink makers to drop the term. The filing asks the court to quash the order.

Reliance Consumer Products Ltd, the group's beverages arm, says the measures have disrupted operations and damaged its standing in the market. According to the petition, state authorities have seized Reliance stock and told e-commerce platforms to pull the products from their sites. PepsiCo and Monster Beverage challenged the regulator last week, while Austria's Red Bull obtained a court reprieve that lets it keep using the label. The wider push this year includes raids, shutdowns and new warning-label requirements, reflecting rising worries about health hazards linked to these drinks.

Reliance relaunched the Campa name in 2023 and has leaned on retail reach and competitive pricing to take on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. According to Euromonitor, retail sales in India's energy drinks market are rising 12.6% a year, a faster pace than in the US or China. The labelling ban threatens the company's ambitions in that fast-growing category.