India firm on ‘energy drinks’ crackdown despite companies’ bid to stall

India has ordered makers of high-caffeine beverages sold as “energy drinks” to stop using that description, rejecting efforts to stall the regulatory intervention in a fast-growing market expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028, according to documents and sources.India’s food safety regulator said on social media in early July it had issued notices to companies saying there were no Indian standards for such products and claims that a beverage “vitalises body and mind” or can “aid in general weakness” were misleading. It gave no further details.In private, the message from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was even tougher: Pepsi PEP.O, Red Bull, Monster Beverage MNST.O, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance RELI.NS and Hell Energy must drop “energy drink” — or any s