The Delhi high court on October 6 stayed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) order directing PepsiCo, Monster Beverage and Reliance Consumer Products to stop calling their high-caffeine drinks “energy drinks”. PepsiCo and Monster can sell existing stock carrying the label but cannot make new products with it. The court had earlier set aside the same order against Red Bull.
India’s energy-drink retail sales are growing 12.6% a year, faster than in the US and China, according to the research firm Euromonitor, and the market is expected to reach $1.6 billion by 2028, Reuters reported.
What goes into an energy drink?
Caffeine is the main stimulant in most energy drinks, usually combined with added sugar and some mix of taurine, guarana, L-carnitine, B vitamins, ginseng, inositol and glucuronolactone, according to a 2023 systematic review published in the journal Nutrients.
Doses vary widely. The review found caffeine content ranging from 50 mg to more than 500 mg per can or bottle across the products it examined, though a strong cup of coffee can also carry a substantial dose depending on how it is brewed.
Taurine, a compound the body produces on its own and uses in several physiological processes, is often paired with caffeine, though research has yet to establish that the combination delivers all the cognitive benefits attributed to it. Taurine also does not cancel out caffeine’s effects, said Dr Jatin Kumar Majhi, associate consultant in endocrinology at Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneswar.
Guarana seeds contain caffeine along with theobromine and theophylline, two related stimulants, so the plant adds to a drink’s total stimulant content, the review cited above said. “Guarana is another source of caffeine, so the total stimulant intake deserves attention,” Majhi said.
Sugar content ranges from substantial to none, since sugar-free versions use artificial sweeteners instead. The difference may be key because sugar supplies calories, while caffeine’s main role is stimulation.
Does an energy drink give the body energy?
In nutrition, energy means calories, which come from carbohydrates, fats and proteins. A sugared energy drink does provide some. But most of the immediate lift people feel after drinking such a beverage comes from caffeine, which works mainly by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine helps bring on sleepiness and fatigue, so with its receptors blocked, a person feels more alert and less tired.
Within 30 to 60 minutes, a drinker may notice increased alertness, a faster heartbeat or restlessness, and caffeine can stay in the body for several hours, disrupting sleep even after the person no longer feels stimulated, Majhi said. “They (drinks) do not replace sleep or provide sustained energy,” he said.
A 2015 review in the International Journal of Health Sciences found that energy drinks could improve alertness and some measures of cognitive and physical performance, citing studies that reported gains in reaction time, concentration, memory and endurance. It also found limited evidence for several of the broader claims made about the drinks.
In effect, a drinker can feel more energetic without the drink having supplied much usable energy to the body.
How do energy drinks affect health?
The main issues can come from caffeine, which can raise heart rate and blood pressure, particularly at high doses or in people sensitive to it.
Heart problems are among the most studied harms, according to the 2023 Nutrients review, which also noted reports of effects on the nervous system, digestion and kidneys. Most of that evidence comes from case reports, and many of the severe cases involved heavy consumption, though the review’s authors point to people with no known medical conditions who suffered acute heart problems after just a few cans.
Sugary versions can also cause a rapid rise in blood glucose, which is particularly relevant for people with diabetes or insulin resistance, Majhi said, adding that sugar-free versions avoid that problem but carry the same caffeine-related risks.
For most healthy adults, he said, 400 mg of caffeine a day from all sources is “an upper reference limit, not a target”. Palpitations, tremors or disturbed sleep are signs that intake may already be too high.
Children, teenagers and pregnant women should avoid energy drinks, Majhi said. So should people with heart rhythm disorders, uncontrolled blood pressure, anxiety or sleep problems, unless a doctor advises otherwise.
Young people face greater risk partly because the caffeine in a can is high relative to their body weight, which can affect sleep, concentration and behaviour, he said. In severe cases, heavy consumption can lead to dangerous heart rhythm disturbances, and regular sugary drinks contribute to weight gain.
Adolescents are the heaviest consumers of energy drinks, according to a European Parliament research briefing. Much of the evidence on harm to them comes from case reports and observational studies, which cannot on their own show that a drink caused a particular medical problem.
A 2024 review in the journal Public Health, by researchers at Teesside and Newcastle universities, pooled 57 studies of more than 1.2 million children and young people in over 21 countries and found that energy-drink consumption was associated with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as tooth decay. These studies have not shown that the drinks cause such conditions, since poor sleep, diet, stress and caffeine from other sources can all play a part.
Majhi advised parents to check labels and discourage children from using energy drinks to make up for poor sleep, and to encourage rest, regular meals and water instead.
How do countries regulate energy drinks?
Concern over young drinkers has pushed several governments towards sales restrictions. The UK government has said it will ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 in England from April 2027, subject to parliamentary approval. The ban will cover shops, vending machines and online sales, and will apply to drinks other than tea and coffee containing more than 150 mg of caffeine per litre.
Norway has prohibited energy-drink sales to under-16s since January 1, 2026, while Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Kuwait already bar sales to under-18s. Mexico’s lower house has voted for an under-18 ban, and Spain is consulting on an under-16 ban; one Spanish region, Galicia, already bars under-18s.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made new guidance on caffeine labelling a priority for 2026, though guidance of this kind is not legally binding.
The European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) is updating its 2015 opinion on caffeine safety for children and adolescents.
The FSSAI direction, and how companies responded
FSSAI on June 30 directed makers of high-caffeine beverages sold as “energy drinks” to stop using the description, and privately gave companies 90 days to remove “energy drink” or similar terms, Reuters reported. The regulator said in early July that no official Indian standard exists for such beverages, and that claims a drink “vitalises body and mind” or helps with “general weakness” were misleading, according to Reuters.
FSSAI classifies these products as “caffeinated beverages”, with caffeine content set between 145 mg and 300 mg per litre, and require a label warning that they are not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women and people sensitive to caffeine. The label must also carry the words “consume not more than 500 ml per day”.
The companies argued that the order had been issued without a show-cause notice or a hearing. In its petition, PepsiCo said “energy drink” was a permissible descriptor it had used for years and that the order introduced a prohibition that wasn’t in any notified regulation. Red Bull argued the “abrupt prohibition” had been issued without any change to the underlying product standard, Reuters reported.
PepsiCo told the Delhi high court the directive could have “grave commercial consequences”, and said it had 492 million bottles and 26 million cans carrying the label in circulation as of July 31, according to a court filing reviewed by Reuters.
FSSAI told the court that PepsiCo and Monster had agreed at a July 20 meeting with the authority not to use the descriptor going forward.
Monster said it was suffering “grave financial loss and reputational harm”. The companies also told the court that authorities in several states had seized stocks after the directive, and Reliance’s beverage arm said the seizures were “causing substantial disruption” to its business.
Hearing the Reliance case, the court asked why FSSAI had not given the company enough time before taking its decision, and told the regulator it was “never too late” to correct its mistake.
The court set aside the order against Red Bull on September 29 because the company had not been given a chance to explain its position, and a government official told Reuters that FSSAI would appeal on public health grounds. The cases will next be heard on November 5.
