FSSAI’s alco-bev standard amendments open doors for innovation, but also creative avenues for surrogate ads
With new definitions for ready-to-drink beverages, meads, and craft beers, industry leaders hail regulatory clarity as a win for innovation and market expansion. Many, however, warn that the move could open up more creative avenues for surrogate promotions.
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In a significant regulatory move, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified sweeping amendments to its alcoholic beverages standards, expanding the scope of defined categories to include ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, honey wines (meads), craft beer, and even redefining whisky classifications. While the update is being welcomed by the alco-bev industry for eliminating long-standing ambiguities and unlocking innovation, some caution that the expansion of formally recognized categories- especially trendy, youth-targeted ones like RTDs and meads- could open up more creative avenues for surrogate promotions.
Effective from January 1, 2026, the revised regulations introduces the definition of “alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages”. This include flavored drinks containing between 0.5% to 15% alcohol by volume, created using spirits or a mixture of spirits and other alcohol-based bases, with or without carbonation.
Such beverages can also contain juices, herbs, spices, sweeteners, salt, and other food additives permitted under FSSAI's broader food standards. Significantly, the regulations also formalize the category of honey wine or mead, defining it as a fermented alcoholic drink made from an aqueous solution of honey, without the addition of other carbohydrate sources. Mead products can contain herbs and spices and must conform to specific quality standards under the updated norms.
The updated regulation is the first major revision to India’s alcoholic beverage standards in several years and brings much-needed clarity to what qualifies as a legitimate product in the eyes of the regulator.
For players in emerging segments, particularly RTDs and low-alcohol variants—the new definitions offer not just recognition but smoother pathways to product approvals and market entry.
Industry voices are broadly positive. Nita Kapoor, former CEO of the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), said that the development is a welcome one, and she doesn’t expect it to disrupt existing advertising rules. “FSSAI defining the products is good for the industry. And I don’t see it impacting the industry adversely or the regulation on surrogate advertisement,” she said.
Amardeep Singh, Executive Director of Medusa Beverages, called the move “transformative,” stating that it offers structural clarity for both large and emerging players.
“FSSAI’s move to broaden and modernize standards in RTDs, meads, and craft beers will have a real effect on the structure and growth of the alcohol sector in India,” he said.
Singh added that this could be the first step toward a more evolved regulatory ecosystem. “Until now, grey areas around definitions and labeling have slowed down approvals and created compliance hurdles, especially for emerging categories like mid-strength beers and ready-to-drink formats. These changes simplify entry for new products and will likely lead to a sharper rise in product launches and investments across the alco-bev value chain,” he explained.
He further suggested that with clearer product demarcations in place, future regulatory scrutiny around surrogate advertising could become more nuanced. “As product categories get more defined, regulators may take a more nuanced view of how beverage brands engage with consumers, potentially opening the door for clearer marketing frameworks that balance compliance with brand-building,” he said.
For now, however, the surrogate ad grey zone remains. Alcohol advertising in India is banned, but many companies continue to promote their brands indirectly through music CDs, packaged water, or soda under the same branding. This ambiguity has long plagued regulators and marketers alike, with little clarity on where branding stops and marketing begins.
Industry experts also cautioned that the expansion of formally recognized categories could open up more creative avenues for surrogate promotions. With these newer products offering adjacent non-alcoholic versions or lifestyle extensions, brands may find fresh opportunities to build visibility without directly violating advertising bans, said a brand expert.
The proliferation of RTD lines, for instance, could spawn brand extensions in soda or mixers, blurring the lines even further between genuine promotion and surrogacy.
It is to be noted that the public draft for the new rules of surrogate advertising by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) is yet to be finalised in the detailed and elaborative format. The consultative process of forming the guidelines though began in February last year.
The new guidelines seek tighter implementation, heavy penalties, the inclusion of digital and social media, and no ambiguity in definition of surrogate advertising.
While the principle of the draft guidelines would remain similar to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) guidelines, it is said to have drawn inspiration from the global best practices.
