No-sugar soda market gets fizzy as regional firms latch on to health hook

Seeing rising demand for low-sugar and sugar-free drinks, Punjab-based Lahori Zeera plans to launch the stevia-based version of its flagship drink by March, co-founder and chief operating officer Nikhil Doda said. Mint.

While the company offers a zero-sugar option, Doda defended the nutritional profile of its current products, saying they are not perceived as ‘junk food’ because they combine sugar, salt and lemon juice. “It acts as a type of electrolyte, similar to ORS,” he said, adding that oral rehydration solutions contain sugar and salt but are not considered sugary drinks.

Pricing is competitive to attract new consumers to the niche segment. The company’s sugar-free variant will be sold at entry level ₹Maximum retail price of £10 for a 200ml bottle. Normal variant is also priced ₹Doda said it was 10 for a 160ml bottle.

Industry experts say sugar-free varieties are often priced higher. Santosh Sreedhar, partner at Avalon Consulting, said sugar alternatives are more expensive than sugar itself and have lower sales volumes, so sugar-free drinks are often priced 30-50% higher than regular varieties, with brands using this segment to reach a higher-paying consumer base.

In south India, House of Bindu, a former player based in Karnataka, was the pioneer in introducing jeera to the market in 2002. The brand recently launched a range of juices made from scent in December 2025.

“Earlier, our products had 14-15% sugar,” said Sathya Sankar, managing director of House of Bindu, which makes the popular Bindu jeera drink. “All our new products now have only 6-7% sugar,” he said.

Sankar said the brand wants to appeal to consumers who are price-conscious but also health-conscious.

“We’re seeing young people increasingly want low-sugar drinks,” Sankar said. The brand plans to launch coconut water using natural sugar and is also exploring plans to make its hero product Bindu jeera sugar-free next year.

Sankar said, “As I believe in the importance of producing quality products and transferring the value to the end consumer, the new product range will also be priced in the same range as sugary products.”

Aliasgar Hajoori, a fourth-generation entrepreneur and director of Surat, Gujarat-based 103-year-old former player Sosyo Hajoori, believes sugar is still a dominant factor when it comes to the broader beverage market, but low-sugar and sugar-free are catching up.

Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL), the FMCG arm of Reliance Retail Ventures, has acquired 50% stake in Sosyo Hajoori Beverages Pvt. Ltd in January 2023, with the Hajoori family retaining the remainder. Led by Abbas Hajoori and his son Aliasgar, the company produces ancient Indian beverages, including its flagship Sosyo, a soda made using grapes and apples.

The partnership is part of RCPL’s broader drinks push, including the revival of the Campa brand. Campa now has sugar-free varieties such as Campa Cola Zero Sugar and Campa Energy Drink Zero Sugar, offering classic cola and energy flavors without added sugar.

The brand aims to appeal to the growing niche segment of consumers looking for sugar-free varieties and plans to launch a low-sugar or sugar-free version of its drinks next year.

But the outlook for traditional sugary drinks has not worsened. “I think the market for low sugar or sugar-free drinks will remain very small compared to sugary drinks. They will not be able to compete because Indians still love sweets and sugar will dominate, but these two segments will coexist in the future,” Hajoori said.

“There is a real consumer demand for sugar-free varieties, driven by growing awareness of diabetes, obesity and high BMI,” said Sreedhar of Avalon Consulting, adding that there are currently around 100 million adults living with diabetes in India, driving demand for sugar-free products across categories including juices, confectionery and chocolate.

Lahori Zeera’s entry into the low-sugar and sugar-free beverage category reflects a broader consumer trend set by fizzy drink giants such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Campa.

Low-sugar and sugar-free products already account for a significant portion of volumes at PepsiCo’s largest Indian bottler.

Raj Gandhi, chairman and full-time director of Varun Beverages Ltd, maker of brands such as Pepsi and Mirinda, said low-sugar and sugar-free products accounted for about 56% of the company’s consolidated global sales volumes and about 45% in India in the nine months ending September 2025, underlining how quickly the segment is gaining traction even in mass markets.

Ravi Jaipuria, chairman of Varun Beverages, emphasized the importance of affordability to drive wider adoption of beverage categories and said: ₹The MRP of 10 per pack is an “extremely aggressive” yet strong price point to expand consumption beyond metros. “You can’t even get a small cup of tea today because ₹10,” he said, adding that such pricing could significantly accelerate penetration in India’s rural and semi-urban markets.

Noting that India’s beverage market still has a significant headroom due to low per capita consumption, Jaipuria said competition and sharper pricing could help grow the overall category over the next few years, rather than just changing the share among brands.

To counter Reliance’s Campa, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have launched sugar-free and light variants. ₹10th in core markets a report inside Economic Times In March 2025.

Avalon’s Sreedhar said that as brands test the real demand, sugar-free offerings are slowly moving beyond the affluent urban segments towards tier-2 and tier-3 towns, thanks to wider availability. While the category is likely to remain niche, he expects it to become a significant offering over time and command a premium premium like other health-focused segments such as high-fiber or low-fat products.