Energy Shot Blog

The energy drink and energy shot markets have seen explosive growth in just a few years, and with so many options on one shelf, the efforts for marketers to distinguish their copy cat energy drink and shots from the competition has become more about solving it all and not so much on providing a simple boost of energy.

For many of these new entrants, their strategies to sell include making claims that their drink can give you more than its neighbors in the convenience store cooler. For example, energy Drink 1 will give you A and B, but next to it energy Drink 2 says it will give you A, B and C. It would just make sense that Drink 2 is better, right?

It's come to a point where labels tell you that the drink will pretty much solve it all. You can now find energy drinks that allege improvement in learning, sexual performance, enhanced mood, muscle recovery, coordination, fat burning, motivation and more in just one can. Somehow you just stumbled upon a miracle sent from the energy drink gods right there next to the soda and water at your small town gas station and it will do everything but walk your dog.

The same was true in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when patent medicines, also called nostrums, offered a solution for just about every ailment known to mankind. These so-called remedies were high in hype and low in results. Many contained alcohol or cocaine to give the illusion of “doing something” but served mainly to fool gullible consumers and line the pockets of their promoters.

The emergence of more competitors in the energy drink and shot markets mean more unsubstantiated claims designed to sway your purchase decision. That may have worked back in the patent medicine era, but today’s consumers are much more savvy. You're already able to make an educated energy drink comparison and filter out the puffery to choose what you feel is the best choice. So there shouldn't be a need to trick you into a purchase. We would all like a cure-all in a can that could improve our overall wellbeing instantly, but it only exists in the imaginations of unscrupulous marketers.

Labels: energy drinks

It’s been called the "obesity tax", "junk food tax", and "fat tax", and even more states are now tacking on a little extra levy on unhealthy food and beverages to slim the waistlines of Americans and try to expand skinny state budgets during economic strains.

We first mentioned the obesity tax in our February post, "Sugary Beverages May Carry 'Obesity Tax'", which told about a 15% tax being worked out for the state of New York and then again in May when it was mentioned that U.S. Senate was drafting a solution to increasing healthcare costs which included a nationwide "fat tax." Today, the idea to tax unhealthy foods and beverages is gaining steam and more states are adopting it, nearly three dozen to be exact.

On Sept. 1, Illinois became the newest state to add a tax on foods deemed as "unhealthy choices." The state’s new taxes vary by type of food and by location. For example, a sugary energy drink will be taxed 6.25% across the state, but beverages classified as soft drinks in Chicago will carry a tax of 14.25%.

Across the nation backers of the "obesity tax" suggest that it could help offset the estimated $147 billion cost of treating this health epidemic, while critics argue that the route a healthy nation is education, exercise and balanced diets. Any way you look at it, our nation needs to make better choices when it comes to food and drink.

Every week more than 4 million people choose 5-Hour Energy shots instead the sugar-packed alternatives. With zero sugar and only 4 calories, 5-Hour gives you the energy you need void of fillers and void of the "obesity tax."

Sources:
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5806E520090901?rpc=64

http://bit.ly/AORu4

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/nyregion/17sugartax.html?_r=3

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, energy drinks, energy shots, obesity tax

Back in April of this year the post “Study Confirms that Caffeine Can Ease the Pain of Your Workout” looked at the results of a University of Illinois test that gave reasoning as to why gym rats walk around with their Java or energy drinks during a workout. We showed you that the caffeine-workout connection was not just for the boost to help push the limits of your workout; it was also for the healing affects that many overlooked.

That study clearly suggested a benefit between caffeine and working out. But what we didn’t emphasize enough was the importance of choosing a caffeine source that wouldn’t hinder the results of your workout with excess sugar and calories, large amounts of carbonated liquid, and all the extras that are counterproductive towards your fitness goals.

We followed in May with the post “Round 1: Energy Drink Comparison: Shot vs. Can – Compare Ingredients” that scrutinized the nutritional facts of a 2 oz. 5-Hour Energy shot and a 16 oz. canned energy drink. If you didn’t read it, the post simply showed you that it’s more beneficial to choose 5-Hour over canned energy drinks. But how much time and effort are required to burn the calories if you chose a canned energy drink over 5-Hour Energy shot?

Body weight is all about the amount of calories we take in minus that which we burn. So when you compare the four calories in a 5-Hour Energy shot to the 100 or 200 in the canned option, it’s clearly going to take more time and effort to use up the competitors beverage. How long to burn off that energy drink? The chart below shows the time needed to burn these calories across various exercises based on what the average person can expect.


HealthStatus.com Calories Burned Estimator: http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

Few of us get paid to spend time in the gym and most of us use the excuse that we don’t have enough time to make it there. You’ve heard the saying “time is money.” With the sugar energy drinks out there you’re throwing away time, money, fitness achievements and more. With 5-Hour Energy you’re just getting a better boost for your workout, or after your workout and saving time that can be used outside of the gym.

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, energy drinks, energy shots

Round 3: Cost

For most of us cost is the greatest determining factor of a purchasing decision. Getting more "bang for your buck" is how we tend to shop, and striving to find what we want at the lowest price is not a choice, but a necessity. No one wants to waste money on something that doesn’t deliver, so we scrutinize and analyze packaging, portions, promises and performance of the things consume and use daily.

Round 3 of the Energy Drink Comparison analyzes what a 5-Hour Energy shot and a competing canned energy drink will cost you for the year - not just in dollars and cents, but in loss of production due to the crash that follows some energy drink consumption.

Most people need a morning stimulant to get their day rolling. Whether it is tea, coffee or an energy drink, starting the morning routine without something extra is unthinkable. Being such an important factor to getting our lives back in gear after the slumber, some may overlook how it’s hitting the pocket book.

A fair price for a 16 oz. energy drink is around $2.50 and for the 5-Hour Energy shot it’s roughly $3.00. Clearly a year’s worth of canned energy drinks will be expensive, but not as expensive as the 5-Hour Energy shot. Now before dollar signs become the final verdict over everything else that was mentioned in Round 1: Comparing Ingredients or Round 2: Convenience and Portability, consider the hit to your production time that the crash from a canned energy drink can deliver. That’s not the case with the 5-Hour Energy shot. The ingredients in a 5-Hour Energy shot are simple, and they won’t bog you down. In fact, everything in 5-Hour Energy is found in every day food or already in our bodies. If you spend $2.50 on a canned energy drink and it doesn’t deliver, you’re just wasting money, but when you slam a slightly more expensive 5-Hour Energy shot and it works just like it’s advertised, every time, then it’s worth every penny. You can’t put a price on feeling bright and alert.

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, energy drinks, energy shot

The cars of 5-Hour Energy Racing have thundered their way up the rankings of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and earned some impressive driver awards along the way.

After a 7th place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 6, 5-Hour Energy driver Steve Wallace took home the Featherlite “Most Improved Driver” award. The wheelman of the No. 66 5-Hour Energy Chevrolet crossed the line 22 places better than the week prior at Dover and moved up to the 10th position in the championship points standings.

This is the second season Wallace has been a pilot for the 5-Hour Energy team. Last year fans watched the young gun capture his first career top-5 and top-10 finishes with a little added boost from his preferred pre-race beverage.

In the No. 62 Extra Strength 5-Hour Energy Chevrolet, rookie Brendan Gaughan finished in second place in the CarQuest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 23. More recently Gaughan sealed a fourth place finish in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. It was only his fourth race in the Nationwide Series and he impressed the crowd as the highest finishing rookie in the June 13 race. Gaughan stands solid in 7th place for the championship and has ample races left to make it to the top with a little help from a shot of Extra Strength 5-Hour Energy.

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, 5-Hour Energy Racing, energy drinks, energy shots

To stay competitive in this dwindling workforce you have to be constantly on the move. It doesn’t matter if it’s the early morning walk with the dog, the loading and unloading of the kids in and out of the van, or the pacing from the printer to your desk and back just to realize the file was never sent. You’re conscience that productivity is a result of time and effort, the former you don’t have enough of and the latter you strive to keep at full tilt.

You don’t have time to fumble with inconveniences, which also take effort away from bigger things. The next criterion of the Energy Drink Comparison scrutinizes how you store, carry and enjoy that daily energy boost in consideration of time and effort needed. This criterion is the convenience factor.

Canned energy drinks are like many other beverages, they need to be refrigerated even for the smallest enjoyment. The 5-Hour Energy shot was created knowing that a refrigerator is a convenience most don’t enjoy in their vehicles, on the construction site or in the libraries of our universities. The energy shot taste is enjoyable both ice cold or room temperature. Which means it’ll be great even after sitting in your briefcase during a meeting, your Harley’s saddle bag during the rally and even in your pocket next to the spare change.

We don’t need to argue that the shot can be placed in much smaller locations than the 16 oz. canned drink – that’s noticeable to most. The big factor here is your time, the time taken for consumption. Simply put, it’s 2 versus 16 ounces. Energy shots can be sipped over time or taken straight down the hatch in seconds. For that fizzy, canned competitor, well 16 oz. is much smaller than the 32-ouncers found in the same convenience store cooler, but you’re still going to need some time to finish it. Perhaps you enjoy having a drink over a shot. So you drink some now and want to save some for later, right? Chances are that can let out a carbonated hiss when you popped the top and unfortunately you don’t have a screw-on cap like the shot - just another approach to help you enjoy that energy boost now and later from 5-Hour Energy.

The chart below provides a breakdown of Round 2. The shot’s size, packaging and drink formula are examined to create an energy beverage that is convenient and portable for the consumer. Again, as seen in Round 1, less is definitely more.




Check Out Round 3: A Cost Comparison

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, canned drink, convenience, energy drinks, energy shot, ingredients, portability

June 1, 2009

The team at 5-Hour Energy is searching for its top fans. We’re looking for those individuals who have taken on and broken down the barriers of a lethargic and lackluster daily routine with a simple, great-tasting 2 oz. 5-Hour Energy shot. The "Become a Featured Fan" contest invites 5-Hour Energy fans to showcase why they are one of 5-Hour Energy’s biggest fans.

The winners will receive 72 bottles of 5-Hour Energy shots and also be placed on the team’s A-list on the 5-Hour Energy Fan Zone where their story and photo will be published alongside veteran Featured Fans like Steve Wallace, Braylon Edwards and Osi Umenyiora for aspiring 5-Hour Energy fanatics to see.

This is your chance to become one of the admired 5-Hour Energy fans. We know you’re creative, we’ve seen it before in previous contests, so tell us in 400 words or less by July 10, 2009 how you use 5-Hour Energy shots and attach a photo of you and 5-Hour Energy in action. We also know that our fans are extremely diversified and so a photo of you cramming a semester’s worth of knowledge the night before the exam is just as important as a fellow fan landing a nollie backside pop-shove-it on the half-pipe.

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, contests, energy drinks, energy shot, featured fan

Energy shots and drinks are only as effective as the stuff that’s in them. So in the first round of the Energy Drink Comparison: Shot vs. Can the ingredients of the shot and canned drink are scrutinized.

In the case of some ingredients, less is definitely more. In the 5-Hour Energy shot there are only 4 calories as opposed to the 200 or more in the 16 oz. can. Sugar and the resulting carbohydrates are huge contributors to these calories and in a leading canned drink there are plenty. 5-Hour Energy has zero sugars and zero carbs. The chart below compares the contents of the two contenders.


In the case of other ingredients, more is definitely better. While the canned energy drink contains a mere smattering of vitamins, 5-Hour Energy contains a much more robust blend. While the sugary energy drink may provide a quick spike and possible crash, 5-Hour Energy’s B-vitamin barrage offers a steadier feeling of alertness.

Let’s consider what you can expect after a year of consuming either the shot or can. On average Americans grab five energy boosting beverages a week, that’s about 260 drinks during the year. Also keep in mind that there are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat.

With zero sugar and zero carbs, choosing the 5-Hour Energy shot for one year will not even add 1/3 of a pound to your waistline. And don’t forget all that extra energy void of herbal stimulants and the dreaded crash*. By comparison, consuming those five 16-ounce canned drinks each week throughout the course of a year will add 26,000 calories or roughly 7.5 pounds to your waistline, the majority of calories coming from sugar.

Round one is over. Who is the winner? Try 5-Hour Energy and compare it to your current energy drink. Then you can be the judge.

Check out Round Two: Convenience and Portability

Labels: 5-Hour Energy, canned drink, energy drinks, energy shot, ingredients, nutrition

With the popularity of energy shots it’s not uncommon to see new competitors pop up almost daily, many of which try to mimic 5-Hour’s formula. But hey, copying is one of the best forms of flattery. Even more recently, big beverage companies have spun off some of their brands into shot sized drinks. Clearly, energy shots have caught on in a big way, but why?

5-Hour Energy became a leader in the energy drink market for two reasons: 1) the product really works, and 2) it dared to go small. But what about canned energy drinks? A lot of people buy them and there are a lot of brands from which to choose. So how does one decide between energy drink and energy shot? The team at 5-Hour felt it only fair that it give a side-by-side comparison of the regular 5-Hour Energy shot to a popular 16 oz. canned drink to help you decide which is best for you.

The match will be between a leading 16 oz. canned energy drink and a regular 5-Hour Energy shot. In each round we will compare a different attribute which consumers give careful thought to when choosing their boost.

Stay tuned for round one, a nutritional comparison.

Labels: energy drinks, energy shots

May 20, 2009

What started as a state-level proposal from New York Governor David Patterson has become a national idea among U.S. lawmakers as a means to cover the rising costs of the nation’s healthcare.

The proposal seeks to implement a tax on beverages high in sugar, including soda and energy drinks – those deemed unhealthy and a possible cause for the rising obesity rates among Americans - 5-Hour Energy shots contain no sugar and would be free from this tax. We first looked at the proposal in our February blog post titled Sugary Beverages May Carry "Obesity Tax." At the time the Gov. Patterson unveiled arrangements to add an "obesity tax" of about 15 percent on the sale of unhealthy beverages as part of the state’s new budget plan.

That same idea has been outlined by the Senate Finance Committee during a closed-door meeting to reevaluate the aims to provide affordable healthcare to all Americans. Simply put, if implemented the taxes collected on the sale of these beverages would help finance affordable healthcare for all, including the 46 million without medical insurance.

According to an article from Reuters, President Obama would like to see a $635 billion "reserve fund" as foundation to expand medical coverage to the uninsured. Others believe that the final costs could be upwards of $2.5 trillion in order to control the rising medical costs. The committee is expected to have a draft of the legislation passed through the Senate by August.

The committee is considering the correlation between sugary beverages and increased obesity, which in turn increases healthcare costs. Beverages that would be exempt from the tax would include sugar-free drinks like 5-Hour Energy shots and artificially sweetened beverages, both of which would be categorized under healthier choices like milk, juice and water.


Sources:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/14280

http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters/us_usa_healthcare_financing.html
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/would-an-obesity-tax-curb-calorie-filled-drinks/?apage=1

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/14/2008-12-14_governor_paterson_proposes_obesity_tax_a-1.html

Labels: energy drinks, energy shots

Do you remember the movie There's Something About Mary? There is a scene in the movie that reminds me of what's going on in the energy shot market. Ted, played by Ben Stiller, has just picked up a hitchhiker played by Harland Williams. The scene goes like this:

♦ HITCHHIKER: You heard of this thing, the 8-Minute Abs?

♦ TED: Yeah, sure. The 8-Minute Abs – the exercise video.

♦ HITCHHIKER: Yeah, well this is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this – 7-Minute Abs.

♦ TED: Yes. Right. OK, I see where you're going.

♦ HITCHHIKER: Think about it. You walk into a video store. You see 8-Minute Abs sitting there, and 7-Minute Abs sitting right beside it, which one are you going to pick, man?

♦ TED: I'd… I'd go for the seven.

♦ HITCHHIKER: Bingo, man. Bingo. 7-Minute Abs. And we guarantee just as good a workout as the eight minute folk.

♦ TED: Guarantee it? So how do you do that?

♦ HITCHHIKER: If you're not happy with the first seven minutes, we're going to send you the extra minute free. See, that's it. That's our motto. That's where we're coming from. That's from A to B.

♦ TED: That's… that's good. That's good. Unless, of course, if somebody comes up with 6-Minute Abs. Then you're in trouble, huh?

♦ HITCHHIKER: No. No. Not six. I said seven. Nobody's coming up with six. Who works out in six minutes? You won't even get your heart going. Not even a mouse on a wheel.

♦ TED: Good point.

♦ HITCHHIKER: Seven's the key number here. Think about it.

Funny, right? But the same thing has been happening in the energy shot market for years. Since we introduced 5-Hour Energy in September of 2004, unimaginative competitors have tried to fool consumers by claiming to provide six, seven or even eight hours of energy. Some of them have tried to copy our formula. Some of them even directly copy our directions and warnings word for word.

Yeah, well this is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this – 9 Hour Energy! No, wait – 10 Hour Energy! Damn, this could go on forever.

It can be confusing out there, but please be mindful that 5-Hour Energy is only 5-Hour Energy. We have not, nor will we ever, release anything other than a 5-Hour Energy brand energy shot. We do not have a 6-hour, 7-hour or 8-hour version.

Competitors continue to enter the market. 5-Hour Energy continues to widen the gap. To this we say, thank you. Your loyalty to 5-Hour Energy is impressive, and we appreciate it.

I got it! 13 Hour Energy! Bingo, man. Bingo!

Labels: energy drinks, energy shots

With the Cinco de Mayo celebration kick starting the month of May, we decided to keep the cultural theme alive and revisit one of 5-Hour Energy’s most popular uses, combating the Siesta Syndrome.

There are few who do not suffer from that tired feeling that piggybacks the lunch hour. Some call it the "food coma" or "afternoon lull" and it seems to decrease afternoon production rates and cause the work time to drag on. Fortunately, there are many like you who suffer from Siesta Syndrome. A recent study by UK Company Avenance showed that 74 percent of people hit that wall and need a nap.

Many blame Siesta Syndrome on poor lifestyle choices such as the lack of exercise, poor diet and insufficient sleeping habits. Although they may be contributing factors, the medical field has a more natural explanation. Siesta Syndrome can be attributed to what the medical field calls circadian rhythm. This conglomerate of brainwave activity, hormone production, call recognition and other activities maps out the sleeping and feeding habits in animals. Taking this medical explanation into consideration, humans are simply programmed to need some sleep in the afternoon.

Now you have an excuse for your diminishing production following the client luncheon. We don’t recommend using it, but the facts are there to back it up. Just rest assured that when the excuse doesn’t workout, 5-Hour Energy Shots offer a quick boost that will carry you through the afternoon and into your evening routine without the *crash. With the way things are in this economy, our fans can’t afford to fall behind or miss an opportunity because of a biological clock that they didn’t program.

Labels: energy drinks, energy shots

Everyone has seen it, you're at the gym and you notice that many choose coffee over sports drinks or regular H2O. When energy levels are burned off from the stresses outside the gym, the caffeine in that cup of coffee carries many through a routine workout. Even more invigorating, and probably unnoticed by the java Joes at the gym, is that the caffeine in their mug of dark roast also helps ease the pain of their workout.

Robert Motl, a University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor, did a study with 25 college males to test the claims that caffeine does in fact reduce the pain of a work out on both coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers. During the tests, Motl's team put the subjects through routine cycling exercises and prior to the workout, participants were given a pill. Some received a dose of caffeine and others a placebo. The study found that caffeine does reduce pain during a workout in both habitual coffee drinkers and java-free gym goers.

Being a stimulus that works on the adenosine neuromodulatory system, a part of the brain associated with pain processing, caffeine diminishes the physical pains of athletic exertion. This is encouraging news for everyone who wants to become more physically active.

Many go to the gym and push it until the pain convinces them to call it quits. This is the point where a natural and healthy boost like caffeine can take it to the next level. By reducing the pain of a workout, that level at which we tend to drop off because of exhaustion and soreness gets pushed back and the extra workout increases the health benefits.

The caffeine-workout connection helps explain why so many are chugging large raspberry mochas into the nation's health clubs. You, like everyone else, want to get the most out of the time invested in a workout. But you are not a coffee drinker or running on a full stomach of dark brew isn't the greatest idea. A quick solution is a 2 oz. 5-Hour Energy shot. 5-Hour Energy shots have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of premium coffee and are sugar-free, contain only 4 calories and they store nicely in your gym bag.

For greater details about Motl's caffeine study, you can read about it in the April edition of International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

Sources:

• LiveScience Article


• Medical News Today Article


• University of Illinois News Bureau Article

Labels: energy drinks, energy shots

Just a few weeks before the ball dropped in Time Square marking the start of 2009, New York Governor David Patterson unveiled plans to add an "obesity tax" of about 15 percent on the sale of unhealthy beverages as part of the state’s new budget plan.

The proposed tax would help raise healthcare funds and promote healthier choices, a strategy that may be adopted by other states. Under Gov. Paterson’s proposal, those beverages deemed unhealthy include drinks high in sugar like regular soda and energy drinks. Beverages that would be exempt from the tax and falling into the healthy drink category include milk, juice, bottled water, diet drinks, and sugar-free beverages.

Sugar, along with plenty of extras, is used in a lot of energy drink formulas. For example, one popular energy drink fills a 16 oz. can with 62 grams of sugar (that’s over 13 teaspoons) and 25 times the calories found in one 5-Hour Energy Shot which contains zero sugar and only four calories.

An "obesity tax" may or may not provide a budget and waistline solution in New York, but it is another tactic being adopted to promote healthy choices in what consumers purchase and what manufacturers produce. Since its introduction in 2004, 5-Hour Energy has been an industry leader and innovator by providing working adults, extreme athletes, college students and all-around sleepyheads with hours of “smooth energy” without the unhealthy extras.

Sources:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/would-an-obesity-tax-curb-calorie-filled-drinks/?apage=1

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/14/2008-12-14_governor_paterson_proposes_obesity_tax_a-1.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/680eadd0-cad9-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

http://www.5hourenergy.com/index.asp

Labels: energy drinks, energy shots, sugar free

Stories, news and updates related to energy drinks.

• Taxes on Sugary Drinks and Junk Food Are Expanding


• Burning Off Your Energy Drink


• Round 3: Cost


• Round 2: Convenience and Portability


• Round 1: Energy Drink Comparison: Shot vs. Can – Compare Ingredients


• Blowing 5-HOur Energy Right Out of the Water


• An Energy Drink Comparison: Shot v Can


• Senate Drafts Solution to Increasing Obesity and Healthcare Cost – Taxing Sodas and Sugary Energy Drinks


• Sugary Beverages May Carry Obesity Tax


• Energy Drinks and Kids


• Here Come the Copy Cats

Labels: energy drinks