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Strait of Hormuz Closure Disrupts Aluminum Supplies, Causing Diet Coke Shortages in India
The war in Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, cutting aluminum can supplies from the Persian Gulf that accounts for 9% of global production and triggering shortages of Diet Coke in India, where the drink is not sold in plastic bottles. A New Delhi marketing consultant responded by hosting a sold-out party for 150 people on April 26.
May 11, 12:00 PM·2m read3 sources
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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused by the war in Iran has led to a shortage of aluminum cans in India, leaving shops struggling to keep Diet Coke on the shelves. The Persian Gulf accounts for around 9% of global aluminum production. Suppliers told Reuters that some orders were not being fulfilled due to a can shortage caused by the situation in the Gulf.
Diet Coke is not sold in plastic bottles in India. Demand for Diet Coke and drinks with alternative sweeteners has surged in the country, where nearly 10% of the adult population is diabetic according to a 2023 study by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The closure is also disrupting gas, energy costs, cooking fuel and fertilizers in parts of Asia, with liquified petroleum gas cylinders in India mostly imported from the Gulf and now in short supply.
Ishika Gupta, a 25-year-old marketing and design consultant based in New Delhi, started an Instagram page dedicated to Diet Coke a month before the war in Iran broke out. She described herself as an “avid drinker” of Diet Coke. Gupta threw a Diet Coke-themed party on April 26 in New Delhi after tickets sold out.
Around 150 people showed up at Ishika Gupta's Diet Coke party on April 26. Attendees wore Coke-themed outfits, danced to house and pop music, and made their own Diet Coke concoctions inspired by Dua Lipa’s recipes. No alcohol was served at Ishika Gupta's Diet Coke parties.
“It was a joke,” Ishika Gupta said. ” She added that the party was a hit with Gen Zers who are craving more alcohol-free experiences. Gupta said it was “some cosmic alignment” that she started her Instagram page before the war in Iran.
“We were celebrating the very thing that there was so-called crisis for,” she added. The venue procured supplies through its distributor even as the drink was sold out on several online delivery platforms. In the neighboring city of Gurugram, the Marièta restaurant reached out to Ishika Gupta about hosting a second Diet Coke party.
