The Energy Drink Market

More than a cheap, legal way to get a buzz?

The energy drink market is viral, thanks to youngsters, ravers, computer nerds, athletes and even seniors who have discovered this new fast, cheap and legal way to get a buzz. People are pounding them back like water for all sorts of reasons. For instance, athletic types down a can or two whenever they need to improve their stamina on the courts, while older men are using them to enhance their physical performance in the bedroom. Others want to be caught swallowing a can because of its designer status. There is a ton of proof that energy drinks like Red Bull are big in celebrity circles. As a result, the club-goers are paying twice as much to swill them like rock stars in nightclubs.

Energy drinks are generally geared towards athletes, ravers, night clubbers, daredevils, shift workers, executives, long-distance drivers and the hip-hop crowd. That means the energy drink market is revving up everyone between the ages of 15 and 30 years old. However, on the flip side of the coin a select niche of energy drinks is aimed at the health conscious. It seems they’ve cornered the market!

We all know how the younger generation flocks from new fad to new fad – especially when you factor in a celebrity endorsement. This has many outsiders predicting that energy drinks will be another flash in the pan, and something better and stronger will come along to grab their attention. However, many energy drinks are actually older than the kids drinking them. In fact, some brands have been waiting for their moment in the spotlight for over 20 years now. The energy drink market is basking in popularity, as manufacturers race to find new ways to jolt the system with byproducts like energy drink powders. The public is also doing its part as well. Ever since magazines began featuring celebrities mixing their energy drinks with alcohol, alcoholic energy drinks have carved a cool little niche for themselves in the club scene.

That’s why the marketing of these drinks is causing some concern in medical circles. If they’re not being marketed to mix with your favorite brand of vodka, they’re being promoted to teens and kids who aren’t sure how to read the labels properly. That’s why warnings are popping up and people are being urged to read the labels on the cans. But really, who would think that a drink you buy legally at the corner store, or even at a night club, would contain hazardous ingredients?

In reality, most energy drinks contain a combination of mind and body-altering ingredients – stuff like caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginkgo, sugar, vitamins, inositol, carnitine, ginseng and milk thistle. These ingredients affect people differently, depending on their health and if they have any underlying conditions. For instance, while a healthy guy might feel a slight high after drinking a can, his buddy with high blood pressure might sweat excessively, get the shakes and feel dizzy after the same amount. Maybe it would be okay if people were just consuming one can a day, but when a raver consumes 5 energy drinks in a row so he can dance all night and then collapses from dehydration, studies need to be done to determine the exact highs and lows these drinks produce.

For the most part, the public is fine and dandy with drinking a can of instant party, but how many cans until a person cross the line? If you want to find out exactly what’s in your energy drink all you need to do is read the nutritional label. You also need to make sure you don’t overdo it and drink more than the recommended amount because, like cigarettes and alcohol, energy drinks have been shown to be addictive.