Top 10 Energy Drinks – The Best Energy Drinks 2008 !
Posted on December 31st, 2008 by EnergyGuy under Energy This
After another big year for the energy drink market, here are the top 10 energy drinks for 2008 in the United Sates. These top 10 energy drinks have been identified based on their sales numbers, their increase in popularity over the past year, and also with regards of taste, flavor and how much punch they deliver. What started 10 years ago with the introduction of Red Bull into the US market has now grown from one product to some 300-plus varieties from over 210 brands in North America alone. Experts believe that the market in the US could grow over US$3 billion in 2009. Although the segment is only about 5% of the US beverage market, it is red hot and still expanding rapidly. It still allows a total Newbie a side entrance to score big. 5-hours Energy has introduced a whole new concept with their 2 oz concentrated energy shot. The big guys like Monster, Rockstar and Full Throttle have managed to catch up with the runaway success of 5-hours with their own version of an energy shot. After they secured themselves a piece of the coffee based energy drink segment, they now bet on a big break-through 2009 for energy shot products. The RTG coffee beverage leader Starbucks has managed to completly miss the Java frenzy, but was finally able to launch their own Coffee + Energy line at the end of 2008. Distributed nationally through Pepsi, its success is not yet determined. The grand daddy of all energy drinks and the inventor of the entire market segment Red Bull is still the solid market leader in terms of sales but the big contenders like Monster, Rockstar and others have manged to run circles around the 2,000 pound bull. Red Bull was late with their sugar free product, missed out on the Java frenzy, took its time to offer bigger serving sizes and is still MIA with regards to the energy shots. Rumors have it that Red Bull intends to introduce its own energy shot in 2009. For now they try their luck with a Natural Cola Red Bull version, which is very likely to meet the same faith as any other cola based product with the exception of Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. It seems that there is always another billionaire that believes that there is a chance to break into the cola territory. Red Bull’s market share remains under heavy attack. Whether they are able to restore full control as a strong market leader remains to be seen. Here are the best energy drinks of 2008:
1. Rockstar Energy Zero Carb
2. Full Throttle Unleaded
3. Monster Java Loca Moca
4. SoBe Adrenaline Rush Sugar Free
5. Red Bull
6. Bawls Guarana
7. AMP
8. Hype
9. NOS
10. Rockstar Energy Punched Citrus Acai
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January 29th, 2009 at 2:21 am
Thanks that was very informative I didnt realize that there were so many energy Drink Products. 5 Hour Energy Drink Is not listed because it is a shot. By far its on TV, Radio,Print and the internet. and is endorsed by atlehtes. its in every major store, including varity stores and gas stations. Do you think other shot products can over take 5 hour? What do think about buying the product on line vers picking it up from your local store?
January 30th, 2009 at 7:42 am
how is it possible that you failed to mention spike shooter, which packs a walloping 300 mg of caffeine in a small can, or 350 mg of caffeine in the larger (monster/fullthrottle size) can? not to mention the addition of yerba mate and yohimbe. spike shooter leaves all the others in the dust, my friend, and with no sugar, there is no crash to be had at the end of it.
January 30th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Dennis : There is a nice post on Caffeine in micro shooters and 5-hours Energy has its mention there where it belongs.
Agent Action: As the article about the Top 10 Energy Drinks 2008 lays out right at the beginning. “These top 10 energy drinks have been identified based on their sales numbers, their increase in popularity over the past year, and also with regards of taste, flavor and how much punch they deliver.” Spike shooter may taste great and also deliver a good punch but it clearly lack popularity and market share in order to qualify in the top ten in this market. Also the product is not well positioned right now. The market now looks to drinks that are either large – 15 and 16 oz – or minimal with micro shots that are all around two ounces. The 8 oz can which was started by Red Bull is no longer a popular size. Also if you measure the caffeine content of 300 mg per 8 oz the per oz content of 37.5 mg falls considerably short of the real loaded products like AMMO that packs 171 mg of caffeine per oz which is almost 5 times as potent as the Spike shooter. So you end up with a product that is not really competing with the “big” drinks and clearly has not enough punch to compete with the small shots. Sorry!