# Why are energy drinks so !@#$%^& expensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2016, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849 "2016-07-01T03:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/21 "2016-07-01T08:31:44Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Heh, energy drinks are pretty much the cheapest thing I can get in a 0.5l can over here in Finland (99 cents, of which 15c is deposit for the can). Even regular soda is more expensive. That was something I noticed (and loved) about Budapest, Hungary as well! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/22 "2016-07-01T09:14:59Z")
What beer comes in 24 oz. at 9.9%? “Malt liquor” you mean, which is sometimes not legally beer, even if pretty much the same? What I mean is: some macrobrews come in 24 oz, but are normal alcohol. Some micros are high alcohol, but either 22 oz or 750 mL (25.4 oz), if not 12 oz. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/23 "2016-07-01T09:44:34Z")
8 energy drinks a day? I need to buy shares in diabetes drugs. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/24 "2016-07-01T09:54:51Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Is making energy drinks that much more expensive than brewing beer? This speaks to a misconception – the price of a thing is not determined by the cost of making that thing. The price of a thing is determined by supply and demand, and if that price is 1000 times what it costs to make, then someone is going to make a tidy profit. For commodity-like products, eventually more manufacturers will enter the market and undercut the high-margin manufacturers, but that is not possible for branded energy drinks. No one else can make “Monster”. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/25 "2016-07-01T10:18:40Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Not everyone who drinks energy drinks does it solely for the caffeine. One could just take caffeine pills or even liquid caffeine for that matter. Caffeine’s melting point is 238 °C. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be consuming it in liquid form. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/26 "2016-07-01T10:42:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Bear\_Nenno** : > > Sounds like Monster’s Rehab series. Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Pomegranate, Peach, and some other flavor I cant think of. They’re great. Low calorie, lots of vitamins, taurine, gensing, a little caffeine… Its the thirst mutilator! What a world we live in, where a so-called “energy drink” would advertise and brag about how little energy it gives you. When people say “energy” in this context, what they really mean is a caffeine high, and they only need energy drink quantities because they’re badly addicted. It would never be socially acceptable today for someone to say the same thing about opium, or even alcohol or cigarettes. Why is caffeine addiction so mainstream? ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/27 "2016-07-01T11:41:51Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > … Its the thirst mutilator! Isn’t the thirst mutilator… you know… water? ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/28 "2016-07-01T12:08:41Z")
People are willing to pay the price. Might have something to do with them being addictive. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/29 "2016-07-01T12:41:48Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Isn’t the thirst mutilator… you know… water? Withdrawal from water addiction can be deadly, so be careful. I’ve never seen the draw to energy drinks, too sweet for my tastes, coffee is the better value. My 879 gram (2 lbs)`tin` costs £5 ($7) and last a good seven to ten days (1 to 1.5 weeks). Plus I’d rather see the profit spent on feeding the hungry and housing the homeless in the places coffee is grown, rather than going to the sugar beet magnates in some First World luxury cityslicker’s gardener’s retirement account. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/30 "2016-07-01T13:02:18Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Sounds like Monster’s Rehab series. Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Pomegranate, Peach, and some other flavor I cant think of. They’re great. Low calorie, lots of vitamins, taurine, gensing, a little caffeine… Its the thirst mutilator! Yeah, that’s the one. Looks like 161mg of caffeine, which is about perfect for me without getting me too jittery. And it somehow doesn’t seem to have that odd “energy drink” taste the others have. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/31 "2016-07-01T13:07:23Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > That was something I noticed (and loved) about Budapest, Hungary as well! When I lived there (98-03), they weren’t really quite that popular yet, but I noticed the same price differential with beer vs soda. A half liter of the local beer (Dreher, Arany Aszok, Borsodi) were usually cheaper in restaurants than a soda (which came in a 0.33L glass from what I remember–maybe even smaller–and no free refills.) I became quite the regular beer drinker then… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/32 "2016-07-01T13:19:10Z")
Why not go all out and drink Four Loko? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/33 "2016-07-01T13:35:34Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Withdrawal from water addiction can be deadly, so be careful. > > I’ve never seen the draw to energy drinks, too sweet for my tastes, coffee is the better value. My 879 gram (2 lbs)`tin` costs £5 ($7) and last a good seven to ten days (1 to 1.5 weeks). Plus I’d rather see the profit spent on feeding the hungry and housing the homeless in the places coffee is grown, rather than going to the sugar beet magnates in some First World luxury cityslicker’s gardener’s retirement account. Some of us don’t like coffee. I bought a kilo of caffeine powder a couple of years ago so I’m set for another 7-8 years. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/34 "2016-07-01T14:02:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What a world we live in, where a so-called “energy drink” would advertise and brag about how little energy it gives you. > > When people say “energy” in this context, what they really mean is a caffeine high, and they only need energy drink quantities because they’re badly addicted. It would never be socially acceptable today for someone to say the same thing about opium, or even alcohol or cigarettes. Why is caffeine addiction so mainstream? Low-calorie energy drinks? Now I really have heard it all. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/35 "2016-07-01T14:08:04Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Isn’t the thirst mutilator… you know… water? Mostly they are water, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/36 "2016-07-01T14:10:19Z")
Look for Moxie(Doesn’t taste like the soda), Spider, or Venom. These are all sold for 99 cents. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/37 "2016-07-01T14:12:36Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Low-calorie energy drinks? Now I really have heard it all. :smack: When I drink them, that’s pretty much the only kind I ever drink. Not sure what the amazement is. I’m drinking them for the caffeine and whatever other dubious crap they have in them that may or may not do a thing when I don’t feel like having (or want something more portable than) a cup of black coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/38 "2016-07-01T14:15:21Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Low-calorie energy drinks? Now I really have heard it all. :smack: No you haven’t. Monster also makes a zero calorie, CAFFEINE FREE energy drink. [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBP7pl3hTfc/VCsItf9IL8I/AAAAAAAAF8g/qwMKqbYikBk/s1600/monsterunleaded.jpg](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBP7pl3hTfc/VCsItf9IL8I/AAAAAAAAF8g/qwMKqbYikBk/s1600/monsterunleaded.jpg) NOW you’ve heard it all. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/39 "2016-07-01T14:33:04Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > No you haven’t. Monster also makes a zero calorie, CAFFEINE FREE energy drink. [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBP7pl3hTfc/VCsItf9IL8I/AAAAAAAAF8g/qwMKqbYikBk/s1600/monsterunleaded.jpg](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qBP7pl3hTfc/VCsItf9IL8I/AAAAAAAAF8g/qwMKqbYikBk/s1600/monsterunleaded.jpg) > NOW you’ve heard it all. That has sugar, [just no caffeine.](http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-content/monster-unleaded) > [@](#): > > There is no caffeine rush from this drink, but perhaps just a slight sugar rush. Monster strays a bit from their standard energy blend and replaces the caffeine with an additional amino acid, L-Arginine. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849/40 "2016-07-01T14:37:59Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-energy-drinks-so-expensive/758849.md?page=3)