Victoria Holt

Initial Research Assignment 2

I have been asked to draw up some research about competing energy drinks already
available on the market. To do this I am going to compare 4 different drinks like Mountain
Dew, Red Bull, Hype and Monster.
Energy drinks are used to give people boosts of energy in order to help keep someone
going throughout the day either mentally or physically. The people who are most likely to
use these kind of drinks are sporty people or body builders. Most of these drinks contain
sugar or herbal extracts. You tend to find that the energy drink cans are black or red, as
shown on drinks such as monster and red bull.
Energy drink history:
In the UK, Lucozade Energy drinks were first introduced in 1929, it was used to provide aid
in recovery for hospitals. William Mark Swartz developed an energy booster drink which
contains B vitamin, caffeine and cane sugar. In Japan energy drinks date back as far as the
early 1960s, with the first brand being Lipovitan. Jolt Cola was introduced in the United
States in 1985. Most of the marketing was centred around the drinks caffeine content and
the drinks slogan was All the sugar and half the caffeine. PepsiCo brought out a drink called
Josta in 1995 however this drink was then discontinued in 1999. Since 2002 there has been
an on-going trend for selling bigger cans. In many countries such as the US and Canada,
there is a limitation on what the maximum caffeine per serving is in energy drinks. In 2007
energy drink tablets and powders were brought out so that they could just be added to
water. Energy drinks are now used also as drink mixers, for example Red Bull and Vodka is a
popular mix. UK supermarkets now produce their own brand of energy drinks, so that they
can be sold at lower prices than some of the major manufacturers. You find these drinks in
250 ml cans or 1 litre bottles.
Audience /Age:
Energy drinks such as Monster are aimed at mostly males from their teen years through to
around their 40s. This is the age range because younger people have a more extreme action
packed lifestyle. However, if you are too young or too old, energy drinks may be quite bad
for you and your health. The usual audience for drinks such as these can be either for boys
or girls or both. You can tell who the product is aimed at by the colour of the can, and the
details sometimes given on the back.

Victoria Holt

Mountain Dew
This is a carbonated soft drink brand which is owned by
PepsiCo. The usual formula was invented by 1940 by
Tennessee beverage bottlers.
The ingredients in mountain dew are Sugar, concentrated
orange juice, Citric acid, Natural flavors, Sodium benzoate
(preserves freshness), Caffeine, Sodium citrate, Erythroid acid
(preserves freshness), Gum Arabic, Calcium disodium EDTA, Brominated vegetable oil,
Yellow 5. In a 12fl.oz can of Mountain Dew there is 54mg of caffeine.
In the 1940s-1980s there was only one variety of mountain dew, this was a citrus-flavor but
it was also caffeinated. However, you can now get Diet Mountain Dew and Mountain Dew
Red which was first introduced in 1988. In 2001 Code Red was put on the market, this is a
cherry flavored Mountain Dew. From this year on the amount of different flavors have
increased, which means they now do things such as limited-time production, region-specific
and retailer-specific.
In the UK production was first extended in 1996 but it phased out in 1998. A drink which has
a similar name but a different-tasting product has sold in the UK under the name Mountain
Dew Energy since 2010 and in Ireland since Spring 2011. Mountain Dew Energy was
renamed in 2014. In 2009, Mountain Dew represented a 6.7 percent share of the overall
carbonated soft drinks market in the U.S.
Cost of a can: 99p
Labelling Information:

Victoria Holt

Hype Energy
These are a range of energy drinks in over 40 countries such as the
USA and Canada. Hard Rock Caf founders first founded it in 1994.
The drink is packaged in a blue can with the silver logo on the side. The lightly carbonated
drink contains elderberry and cranberry fruit juice, which give it a natural red colour. Hype
Energy is free from artificial colours and preservatives. The other ingredients include
taurine, guarana, ginseng, caffeine and ten vitamins: Vit C, Vit B3 (niacin), Vit B5, Vit E, Vit
B6, Vit B2, Vit B1, Vit B12, Vit B9 and Vit B8 (folic acid).
Hype energy was first produced in 1993 by Ashley Roy, Nigel Spiro and Andrew Barshall.
Hype energy then became involved with motor sport, this was done by sponsoring the
Arrows Formula One team and several motorbike teams. The energy drink is rather ironic as
it is named after a problem which energy drink drinkers suffer from.
The ingredients in a Hype Energy Drink are: - Carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, natural
flavourings, taurine, ginseng & guarana extracts, cranberry and elderberry juice (1%),
potassium citrate, caffeine. Ascorbic acid, nicotinamide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin E
acetate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B12,
biotin.
The caffeine levels in a Hype energy drink are 80mg per 8. 46fl.oz can.
Hype energy also has brand ambassadors, these people include Kim Kardashian, Sebastian
Vega and Mohammad Reza Golzar.
Cost of a can: 0.59
Label Information

Victoria Holt

Red Bull
This is an energy drink which was created in 1987, by an Austrian company
called Red Bull GmbH. This drink is the high-selling out of all the energy
drinks in the world. In the year 2013 a massive 5.387 billion cans we sold.
The slogan for Red Bull is Red Bull gives you wings. They market their
product through the use of advertising, events such as Red Bull Air Race,
Celebrity endorsements, music and sports teams ownerships.
There are many energy drinks which have a small association with health risks, one of which
is intoxication when used with alcohol. When the European Food Safety Authority checked
Red Bull they concluded saying that the drink is safe and it contains a standard amount of
caffeine which is unlikely to interfere with any other constituents.
Red Bull contains ingredients such as caffeine, taurine, B vitamins (B3, B5, B6, B12), sucrose,
and glucose. When Red Bull is sold in China they have two versions, one being a regularstrength in a small, wide, red/gold can, but the extra-strength is in a taller, thinner,
blue/silver can.
You can now get Red Bull in several flavours such as: - Original, Sugar free, Cola, Total Zero,
Red Edition, Blue Edition, Yellow Edition, Lime Edition, Silver Edition, F1 Edition, Orange
Edition Zero, Cherry Edition Zero.
Cost of a can: 1.50

Label Information

Victoria Holt

Monster Energy
Monster Energy is a drink which was introduced by Hansen Natural Corp in April
2002. You tend to find that the can is black with a green kind of claw print on the
front. The company for monster energy is also known for supporting many extreme
sports events such as BMX, Motocross, Speedway, skateboarding and
snowboarding. As well as supporting different sports the Monster Energy drink also
promotes a number of music bands, like Asking Alexandria and The Word Alive.
Monster energy has 34 drinks in its brand in North America including, Java Monster, Extra
Strength, Import, Rehab and Muscle Monster.
In a Monster Energy drink the ingredients are:- carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, citric
acid, natural flavors, taurine, sodium citrate, color added, panax ginseng root extract, Lcarnitine, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, sodium chloride,
glucuronolactone, inositol, guarana seed extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose,
riboflavin, maltodextrin, and cyanocobalamin.
On a monster energy drink can label there are warning labels which state that there is about
10mg/oz of caffeine per can. It also advises you not to drink more than 48 oz per day as it is
bad for your health. It also says that the drink isnt recommended for pregnant women or
people who are sensitive to caffeine.
Monster Energys logo is very distinct and can be recognized easily at events. The design
was created by a California-based strategic branding firm. The logo is made up of a vibrant
large green M on a black background.
Cost of a can: 1.50
Label information

Victoria Holt

Some of the standard things that you find on a can label are things such as:

Logo
Company details eg Address, contact details
Name of drink
Text ingredients / what the drink is eg Carbonated mixed flavour energy
drink with added Taurine, Caffeine and Vitamins
Use by date/best before date
Storage details
Exclusions allergies, mums to be etc
Warnings eg High Caffeine Content
Recycle logo/Aluminium logo
Barcode
Product code
Liquid amount + e
Calorie details
Serving details serve chilled
Web or email details
Catchphrase = eg Red Bull gives you wings