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4mo ago

Diet Coke Shortage Hits Indian Cities as Aluminium Can Crunch Deepens

A squeeze on aluminium cans—worsened by Middle East turmoil plus BIS certification delays—has left supplies patchy despite costly stopgap imports.

Why Is Diet Coke Suddenly Missing? A Global Crisis Behind the Empty Cans
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Shelves across the country's supermarkets are running dry, and social media is buzzing with frustrated Diet Coke drinkers comparing the shortage to the LPG crisis.
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Overview

  • Since mid-April 2026, Diet Coke has been hard to find in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad and Gurugram, with quick-commerce apps showing frequent stock-outs and only intermittent pockets of supply in Delhi-NCR.
  • The bottleneck is the can, not the cola, as a global aluminium shock tied to the Iran-related conflict has pushed prices to four-year highs and disrupted shipping through key Gulf routes.
  • India’s Quality Control Order for aluminium cans, enforced by the Bureau of Indian Standards since April 2025, has slowed approvals for local production and imports, adding a domestic choke point.
  • Beverage companies are importing cans from the UAE, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia at higher cost, while major suppliers like Ball and Canpack lack spare capacity and say new lines could take 10–12 months.
  • The squeeze reaches beyond sodas into beer and other canned drinks, and shoppers are reacting with bulk buys and viral memes as summer demand rises and retailers warn of uneven deliveries.