PepsiCo Expands Low- and No-Sugar Beverages to Over 50% of India Portfolio, Targets 90%

PepsiCo has increased low- to no-sugar offerings to more than 50% of its beverage portfolio in India and aims to scale them to 90% over time, the company said. Nitin Bhandari, vice president and general manager of beverages at PepsiCo India, told CNBC in an email that the company gathers consumer insights through engagement forums, social media, and its WhatsApp-based engine PepGenie.

" The moves reflect broader pressure on packaged food and beverage companies following viral social media videos that highlighted sugar content.

Mondelez-owned Bournvita came under fire for higher sugar content, as did Dabur's Real fruit juice. Multiple videos last month pointed to sugar content in mango-based drinks including Coca-Cola's Mazaa. The issue of high sugar content in beverages reached the Indian parliament last month.

The Indian food safety regulator issued notices barring malt-based beverages such as Bournvita from using the "health drinks" branding. It also barred food companies from claiming "100% fruit juice" for beverages with added sugar. Dabur began a path to cut sugar in its juice offerings in 2018.

"We are currently working on sugar reduction to the tune of an additional 20% in the Real core beverage range," a Dabur spokesperson said in an email. The company is also developing low-sugar and zero-sugar variants of its beverages.

Social media influencer Revant Himatsingka, who goes by Food Pharmer on social media and has millions of subscribers, has urged consumers to read labels. Shamik Kumar, a veteran food safety expert who has worked with multinational companies in India, said celebrity endorsement-driven brand trust has shifted to "community-verified trust" because of social media influencers.

India has around 100 million people living with diabetes and nearly a quarter of its population is classified as obese.

In the next five years, India's income per capita is expected to grow at the highest rate among the top five emerging markets for consumer products, including China, Brazil, Mexico and Russia, according to Bain & Company. Global companies already dominate the Indian consumer market across 20 product categories including soft drinks, spirits, savory snacks, detergents and diapers, Bain & Company reported.

Rising incomes and a large population base make India a key market for global consumer-focused companies, yet viral social media videos are now influencing consumer choices beyond celebrity endorsements and distribution reach.

The strength of traditional consumer companies in India lies in their offline distribution reach and high advertising budgets. As online marketplaces widen delivery networks and social media marketing levels the playing field, direct-to-consumer brands are rising. Several D2C brands have emerged over the past few years, building on demand for healthier food and leveraging social media.

Himatsingka has launched his own packaged food brand with what he describes as clean label products that feature short, simple ingredient lists free from additives. A partner at a New Delhi-based venture capital firm noted that consumers are increasingly reading labels for ingredients, efficacy and effects. 7 gigawatts in April last year, according to S&P Global Energy.

Energy supply disruptions linked to the Iran war and a nationwide heatwave boosted demand for the fuel in the world's third-largest carbon dioxide emitter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party achieved a historic election win in West Bengal on Monday. 5 times.

The company offers unsecured loans, with the majority of customers earning less than $1,000 a month, and more than 98% of the loans it disburses are unsecured, according to its IPO filings. Consumer price index data for April will be released on May 12.