Energy Drinks, Ingredient X And Gen Y
Posted by meredith on 01-06-2009
In the wake of the vitaminwater craze –a brand that has worked hard to corner the youth market through its ubiquitous product placement and unlikely spokespeople — I suspect energy drinks may be reaching their tipping point with Gen Y. I'd been thinking about this for some time, but it wasn't until I saw a recent article in the New York Times magazine on a new anti-energy drink that it seemed like the end could be deemed officially near. Or, at least for the lesser known brands.
With the exception of Red Bull and a handful of other stalwarts, I imagine smaller, newer brands facing both stiff competition and rough economic times will have a tough time sticking around. While inside the drinks' traditional niche market of extreme sports, household names like Red Bull and Gatorade continue to keep their stronghold, outside, in the mainstream, vitamin-enhanced beverages with a multitude of flavors and corresponding health-enhancing properties have systematically overtaken almost every selling point going for the product (revival, endurance, intelligence, focus) and made them low-calorie to boot. Even the street cred factor (given a boost back in '05 when Lil' Jon launched his "Crunk Juice") has been encroached by vitaminwater with 50 Cent agreeing to hawk his own flavor.
And then there's the outcry against the health risks, which came to a head last year when a petition was submitted by physicians and scientists calling for the FDA to regulate the highly caffeinated drinks. The drinks were called out for putting "young drinkers at possible risk for caffeine intoxication and higher rates of alcohol-related injuries." Yikes.
And so, it seems the buzz is dying down. But given the aforementioned health risks and the fact that most of these drinks seem like a hop, skip and a jump away from alcopops (Sparks, anyone?) if not worse, I don't think it's necessarily a loss, as much as an opportunity to explore healthier options for getting energized. What are your thoughts, readers?
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January 6th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
We ran a story on Teen Scene recently called "Death by Energy Drinks?" I think you will find it interesting… http://teenscenemag.com/real-life/connected/death-by-energy-drinks.html
January 7th, 2009 at 12:09 am
As a college student, I've never really been into super-energy-drink craze, and am definitely into healthier alternatives (naps, anyone?). But I realized that it's probably because seeing my friends hyped up on Red Bull reminds me so much of that episode of "Saved by the Bell" where Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills.
Clearly, after-school specials had FAR too deep of an effect on my childhood psyche…
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c
January 7th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
for a healthy energy drink try ACT, that last up to 6 hours without the shaky jittery feeling . it also has no crashing effect afterwards this ACT DRINK will give you sport players the advantage ,over your competition. ACT is an all natural vitamin , herb and amino acid drink.