Bengaluru, Jan. 27 -- India's regional beverage makers are discovering that cutting sugar, not prices, may be the next growth lever as they give established aerated beverage players a run for their share in the mass market. They are rolling out low- and no-sugar flavoured soda variants to tap a growing base of young, health-conscious consumers in their core markets.

Seeing rising demand for low- and no-sugar drinks, Punjab-based Lahori Zeera plans to launch a stevia-based version of its flagship drink by March, co-founder and chief operating officer Nikhil Doda told Mint.

While the company is introducing a zero-sugar option, Doda defended the nutritional profile of its existing products, saying they are not perceived as 'junk' because t...