The reasons are a mix of lax regulation, the use of caffeine as a sports performance enhancer among adults, and a bit of scientific uncertainty. Historically, government agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration have struggled to regulate beverages with added caffeine.
Though it offers some guidance , the FDA allows manufacturers of liquid products to decide on their own whether to market their products as dietary supplements, or as conventional foods and beverages, which carry differing regulatory requirements.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in a review published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, note that lack of consistency is partly due to our long love affair with drinks in which caffeine is naturally occurring, including coffee and tea. In , citing health concerns, the FDA proposed to eliminate caffeine from soft drinks, which are regulated as foods. The manufacturers, however, claimed the caffeine was a flavor enhancer. The FDA approved caffeine, but limited the maximum content of cola-type soft drinks to.
When energy drinks first appeared on the American market in the late s and early s, some manufacturers claimed the products were neither drugs nor conventional foods, but dietary supplements.
As early as , sports and medical organizations began issuing position statements discouraging energy drink consumption by young people. Two years later, in , questions about safety and marketing came to a head in the halls of Congress. Three Democratic senators launched an investigation into the marketing practices of energy drink companies. As it happens, a few months before the senate hearing, Monster Beverage Corporation and Rockstar Inc.
Among those providing testimony at a committee hearing was Jennifer L. She and her team had conducted an earlier study of how sugary beverages are marketed to children. Energy drink companies had been pioneers in using social media to market their products, said Harris. At the time of her study, Red Bull and Monster Energy were the fifth and twelfth most popular brands on Facebook—a platform that was, at the time, particularly popular among college students and adolescents.
The energy beverage industry vigorously defended its products and marketing practices. In contrast, the equivalent amount of Starbucks coffee contains mg—more than twice as much.
Further, Monster cans include a label recommending against consumption by children. According to guidelines put forth by the American Beverage Association, a trade group, energy drinks should not be marketed to children under 12, and other leading brands such as Red Bull and Rockstar carry similar labels recommending against consumption by children.
Further, Sacks and representatives from Rockstar, Inc. Not everyone buys this. A study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, for example, tested whether young consumers perceived energy drink advertising as being targeted at people their age and younger. Because the company is privately owned , there is very little financial information available. According to the company, more than 7. That's a jump of 5. The company began selling Monster Energy drinks in after unsuccessfully launching another drink to compete with Red Bull in Monsters drinks come in ounce cans in 36 varieties.
The original Monster Energy comes in five different flavor profiles. One 16 fluid ounce can of Monster Energy contains milligrams of caffeine or 10 mg per fluid ounce —considered very high—and 80 milligrams of taurine, an amino acid considered to be a dietary supplement and mental stimulant. The Monster drink is sold in more than countries and was ranked among the world's top beverage companies.
The company ranked second in the energy drinks industry in after Red Bull. In , the company entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Coca-Cola KO , which purchased a This move made Monster the exclusive energy play for Coca-Cola.
The soft drink giant's distribution network reaches more than countries. The two companies have done business together since The company's stock trades on the Nasdaq. The stock was up 1. The company doesn't report sales per individual brand. Gross profits reported as a percentage of net sales were reported for the year at Its marketing strategy includes affiliations with action sports, motorsports, live music, and models.
Rockstar comes in 8. Rockstar is sold in convenience and grocery stores in more than 30 countries. The soft drink company reaches consumers in more than counties, adding Rockstar to its beverage lineup, which includes Pepsi, Gatorade, and Tropicana. The company said it planned to relaunch the Rockstar brand in the United States and internationally before integrating it into its supply chain. Although PepsiCo doesn't release financial information about specific brands, we can make some determination about how Rockstar is poised to position itself within the company.
The energy drink market is saturated , making it more difficult for smaller and newer companies to compete. Energy shots like 5-Hour Energy may rank ahead of Rockstar in energy beverage sales but its closest competitor, 6-Hour Power, would rank near the bottom of the list. There may be room in the energy drink market for companies that differentiate themselves from the leading players, which look remarkably similar in their advertising, promotions, and sponsorships.
Competitors face challenges such as distribution , obtaining shelf space, and generally offering something unique from the big three. Monster and Rockstar, and less so Red Bull, are on top of the trends in the energy drink and soft drink industry, allowing them to widen their product offerings to compete with smaller players, including Bang. This brand showed significant growth in the market in , faring much better than other natural energy drinks thanks to its lineup of flavors and high caffeine content, which is favored by those who are frequent consumers.
We can expect to see the following trends in the energy drinks industry in the future:. Experts warn that the sleep patterns of teenagers can be drastically altered with the excessive consumption of energy drinks. Notes: This is not an exhaustive list of product offerings that fit the categories shown. There is also some overlap between categories. For example, zero-calorie drinks also have zero carbs.
While there is no legal age limit to how old you have to be in order to drink Monster Energy, the company agreed that it would not market any of its energy beverages to children under the age of 12 in the U. This includes marketing and selling drinks, coupons, and samples in and around K schools, as well as advertising in areas where children are the primary audience, such as television, radio, and the internet.
Monster split its stock four times between and The company did a two-for-one split on Aug. Shareholders received four shares for each share they had on July 10, , and three shares for every one share held on Nov. The company's top individual shareholders include Rodney Sacks As of Dec. The energy drink industry has been growing profitably for years as other once-popular beverages have declined, and it appears on track to keep growing despite regulatory and health challenges.
One of the three leading companies is privately owned, limiting options for investors who want direct exposure to Red Bull through this category.
But investors can still reap the benefits of public beverage stocks like Monster along with exchange-traded funds ETFs that focus on the food and beverage industry. Disclaimer: The author does not own shares of or have a financial interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Research indicates that drinking acidic beverages can damage tooth enamel, which is the hard outer coating that helps protect your teeth against decay Red Bull is an acidic beverage.
As a result, regular intake may harm your tooth enamel One 5-day test-tube study found that exposing human tooth enamel to energy drinks for 15 minutes, 4 times a day resulted in significant and irreversible loss of tooth enamel Furthermore, the study noted that energy drinks were twice as harmful to tooth enamel than soft drinks While occasionally drinking Red Bull is unlikely to have any serious effects on kidney health , research suggests that chronic and excessive intake could. A week study in rats found that chronic intake of Red Bull may cause a decline in kidney function.
However, these results have not been replicated in human studies Additionally, research indicates a link between high sugar intake and an increased risk of chronic kidney disease 19 , 20 , Research has shown an association between drinking Red Bull and increased high-risk behavior, especially when combined with alcohol 1.
When consumed together, caffeine in Red Bull can mask the effects of alcohol, making you feel less intoxicated while still experiencing alcohol-related impairments 22 , 23 , One study found that college-aged students who drank energy drinks and alcohol together were more likely to drink and drive and experience serious alcohol-related injuries than when alcohol was consumed alone Even when not paired with alcohol, observational studies indicate that in young adults, regular intake of energy drinks like Red Bull is linked to an increased risk of alcohol dependence and illicit drug use 22 , 26 , Of course, not everyone who drinks Red Bull will experience an increase in high-risk behaviors.
While safe doses of caffeine vary by individual, current research recommends limiting caffeine to mg per day or less in healthy adults As one small 8. However, the average half-life of caffeine in the blood ranges from 1.
Additionally, adolescents under the age of 19 may be at a greater risk of caffeine-related side effects Current recommendations call for limiting caffeine to mg or less per day in adolescents aged 12— Therefore, drinking more than one 8.
Symptoms of caffeine overdose and toxicity can include nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, anxiety , rapid heart rate, dizziness, trouble sleeping, and seizures Occasional, moderate intake of Red Bull is unlikely to have any serious side effects. Still, when consumed frequently and in excess, it may have several negative and potentially life-threatening effects. Sugar-free Red Bull is lower in calories and sugar but has the same amount of caffeine as regular Red Bull and therefore likely the same potential side effects Despite not providing sugar, sugar-free Red Bull may still increase your risk of type 2 diabetes if consumed regularly, as it contains two artificial sweeteners — aspartame and acesulfame K.
In fact, research associates regular intake of artificial sweeteners with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and has its own potential safety concerns and side effects 33 , 34 , While sugar-free Red Bull is lower in sugar and calories, it packs the same amount of caffeine as regular Red Bull. Plus, as it contains artificial sweeteners, regular consumption may still increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. While rare, excessive intake of Red Bull and similar energy drinks has been linked to heart attacks and deaths.
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