The Energy Drink Revolution

The first beverage to be considered an energy drink, Scottish drink, Irn-Bru (produced as “Iron Brew”), was created in 1901. It was over sixty years before Lipovitan, a genki drink, was created in Japan. 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”, which are also produced inSouth Korea, are marketed primarily to salarymen.

In UK, Lucozade Energy 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 “replenishing lost energy.”

The first drink marketed as being designed to improve the performance of athletes and sports stars arrived in the United States in the 1960s. It was invented for thefootball team at the University of Florida, known as the Gators — wwhich is where it gets its name, Gatorade. Designed to aid hydration and lengthen performance levels, it claimed that its ingredients were formulated for just such things. While Gatorade is safer than many energy drinks, water has been proven to be just as hydrating.   People who drink it just prefer it over water because it tastes better with sugar, salt, and other flavors.  The carbohydrates in Gatorade allow the small intestines to absorb water easier, but it is passed through the body just as quickly, therefore the only advantage is that of the sugars and salt intake.

In 1985, Jolt Cola was introduced in the United States. Its marketing strategy centered on the drink’s caffeine content, billing it as a means to promote wakefulness. The initial slogan was, “All the sugar and twice the caffeine.” That sounded perfect to the teenager up at 2AM or the college student looking to pull an all-nighter.

Monster Energy was launched by Hansen Natural in 2002.

In 1995, PepsiCo launched Josta, the first energy drink introduced by a US beverage company that didn’t just sell energy drinks, but Pepsi discontinued Josta in 1999.

In Europe, energy drinks were pioneered by the S. Spitz Company and a product named Power Horse, before the business savvy of Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur, ensured his Red Bull product became far better known, and a worldwide best seller. Mateschitz developed Red Bull based on the Thai drink Krating Daeng, itself based on Lipovitan. Red Bull is the dominant brand in the US after its introduction in 1997, with a market share of approximately 47% and is almost solely responsible for launching the energy drink revolution that we are in today.

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