New Delhi/Bengaluru, June 28 -- Coca-Cola Co. last week provided some evidence of the urban Indian's growing propensity to swap sugary drinks for sugar-free variants-"a record-breaking 2.5 million-unit cases" of its "no-sugar" Thums Up XForce sold in just three months.

Coca-Cola, which is the world's largest beverage company, its closest rival PepsiCo Inc., and Reliance Consumer Products, which revived the iconic Campa Cola two years ago as Campa, all have zero-sugar variants catering to India's growing obsession with counting calories.

With consumers lapping up these "healthier" fizzy drinks, beverage makers have been able to expand their product lines with zero-sugar or low-sugar variants at different prices without needing separate b...