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Campa gets some breathing room. The Delhi High Court has allowed Reliance to continue marketing its Campa products as ‘energy drinks’ for now.
Stock action: Reliance hit nearly 3% on the back of this development.
Reliance
Why it matters: the company approached the court this month, saying the food regulator’s ban on the ‘energy drink’ label had put its business at risk, disrupting sales and affecting huge amounts of stock and packaging.
The business impact: Reliance Consumer Products told the court it had 168 million cans and 120 million plastic bottles of finished products carrying the label. It also had packaging already printed for another 400 million cans and 360 million bottles.
According to Reliance’s filing, state authorities had seized some stock, while e-commerce platforms had been told to remove the affected products.
Tuesday’s order gives Reliance temporary relief, but the dispute is not over. The Delhi High Court will hear the case again on November 5.
FYI: on June 30, India’s food regulator, FSSAI, directed manufacturers of high-caffeine beverages to stop using the ‘energy drink’ label.
Several beverage companies challenged the move, saying it could mean reworking packaging, disrupting sales and reshaping how they market their drinks.
The bigger picture: Reliance isn’t alone. PepsiCo and Monster Beverage have also challenged the label ban in court, according to filings reviewed by Reuters.
The dispute affects a market expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028. Retail sales of energy drinks in India are growing 12.6% annually, faster than in the US and China.
