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Energy drinks are beverages that are designed to give the consumer a burst of energy by using a combination of methylxanthines (including caffeine), B vitamins, and exotic herbal ingredients. Energy drinks commonly include caffeine, guarana (extracts from the guarana plant), taurine, various forms of ginseng, maltodextrin, inositol, carnitine, creatine, glucuronolactone and ginkgo biloba. Some contain high levels of sugar, while most brands also offer an artificially sweetened version. The central active ingredient in energy drinks is caffeine, the same stimulant found in coffee or tea, often in the form of guarana or yerba mate. The average 8oz energy drink has about 80mg of caffeine, about the same amount as a weak cup of coffee, with 16oz drinks containing around 150mg, although recent drinks have created a stir by containing as much as 300mg of caffeine.
These drinks are typically marketed to young people, and people 'on the go.' Approximately 35% percent of energy drink users are over the age of 35 years old, with males representing approximately 65% of the market [1].
Jolt Cola was released in the 1980s. It was not an energy drink but a high-caffeine, high-sugar brand of cola. It was more of a caffeinated drink than an energy drink. It pioneered a marketing strategy still widely in use by energy drinks today, targeting a generally younger audience, mostly students and young professionals (people on-the-go), billing itself as something that was not necessarily healthy but which would allow them to cram more hours into their day. Later, marketing turned further and further toward people involved in the technology industry, and consequently, energy drinks today are commonly associated with the image of a hacker or young professional, sitting up late at his computer trying to stay awake.
Energy drinks began as a significant category in the USA in 1997 with the introduction of the currently dominant brand, Red Bull, which still has roughly 47% of the market share [2]. By the year 2001, the energy drink market had grown to nearly $400 million per year in retail sales. Over the last 5 years, it grew an average of over 50% per year, totaling over $3 billion in 2005 [3]. Diet energy drinks are growing at nearly twice that rate within the category, as are 16-ounce sized energy drinks. It is estimated to hit nearly 4 billion in 2006, and both Goldman Sachs and Mintel predict that the energy drink market will hit $10 billion by 2010. Major players such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Molson, and Labatt have tried to match the small companies' innovative and different approach, with marginal success.
In Japan, the energy drink phenomenon dates at least as far back as the early 1960s, with the release of the Lipovitan. Most such products in Japan bear little resemblance to soft drinks, and are sold instead in small brown glass medicine bottles or cans styled to resemble such containers. These "genki drinks" are marketed primarily to the salaryman set, to help them work long hours, or to stay awake on the late commute home.
In UK, Lucozade was originally introduced in 1929 as a hospital drink for "aiding the recovery;" in the early 1980s, it was promoted as an energy drink for "repleneshing lost energy."
In the beginning of the 21st century, the addition of energy components into alcoholic beverages made an impact on the market. Many malt beverages such as Sparks, 3sum malt beverage, and Max capitalized on the effects of caffeine while drinking alcohol. It was this search for a hangover cure that led to the creation of the "Hair of the Dog" brand Energy Drinks, using a formula which is intended to provide the body with liver-supporting detoxifiers and anti-oxidants to neutralize the effects of alcohol on the body. Interestingly, this combination of detoxifiers was originally developed by doctors to aid cancer patients taking chemotherapy drugs to combat the harmful effects which the drugs have on the liver.
One of the latest trends in the energy drink market involves a new category of “smart” energy drinks, whose formulas combine the high-power of energy drinks with the high-tech of smart drinks. Drinks such as SmartPower and NOS claim that their ingredients have been shown to modulate how the brain neurochemistry reacts to caffeine, enhancing its desired positive effects while reducing its negative side-effects. Smart energy drinks attract the more "discerning" energy drink buyer by shifting the focus from the quantity of energy in the drinks to the quality of the energy experience that the drink creates.
Energy drinks are different from sports drinks. Most energy drinks simply provide lots of sugar or caffeine. Sports drinks are intended to replenish electrolytes, sugars, water, and other nutrients, and are usually isotonic (containing the same proportions as found in the human body). Some products are now available as hybrids between energy drinks and sport drinks, having electrolytes (sport drinks, aka as isotonic beverages) and herbal extracts (energy drinks) such as Reload and Vault.
A table of energy drinks follows, with a few coffee variants, and some soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, and Pepsi listed for comparison, and marked in a different color. Note that caffeine content in coffee flavors varies, depending on both caffeine content and how the coffee beans were roasted. Source of some data listed below: