PepsiCo warns 'energy drink' ban could run its India supplies dry as Red Bull sells on

By Munsif Vengattil

BENGALURU, Oct 15 (Reuters) - PepsiCo PEP.O told an Indian court on Thursday that a continued ban on the "energy drink" label could drive its top-selling products out of stock nationwide in two months, though rival Red Bull is free to sell its own products for now.

The remarks came as the Delhi High Court again refused to let PepsiCo resume making drinks carrying the prized label, barred by the regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

"There will be no goods in the market after a couple of months," PepsiCo's lawyer, Sandeep Sethi, told the court. "My competitors are able to manufacture."

Red Bull won a court reprieve last month from the regulator's order, but rivals PepsiCo, Monster MNST.O and Reliance Consumer have so far been limited to selling existing stocks bearing the label.

The case is a test of how far the food safety regulator can go in policing product labels in India's rapidly growing energy-drink market, built largely on PepsiCo's .

In June, the regulator ordered makers of high-caffeine drinks to drop the term "energy drink", amid growing concerns about the health risk of such products.

'HAVOC IN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM'

Energy drinks boomed in India 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.

Starting over was "a long cumbersome process", Sethi told the court, with the company's cans already bought and printed.

"That will play havoc with our entire distribution system," he added.

The court has yet to rule on the merits of the ban, with the next hearing in the case set for October 30.