- Coca-Cola has launched its own energy drink called Energy, and it is now on sale in South Africa.
- At R15 for a 300ml can, it has the same caffeine concentration as Red Bull, which comes in a smaller can, for less money.
- But it tastes like a watered-down version of Iron Brew.
- For more stories, go to Business Insider South Africa.
Coca-Cola's brand new energy drink, named just Energy, is now in South Africa, if only barely.
Business Insider South Africa this week managed to track down cans at a Spar supermarket in Johannesburg, after a long and otherwise fruitless search.
The drink should soon be more widely available, Coca-Cola' Southern and East Africa's head of communications, Camilla Osborne told us, including at cinemas.
"As it is still new, the product is still in the process of being filtered through to all stores," she says.
Coke says the drink was based on what consumers want – and they want more choice in the energy drink market.
— Rajen Naidoo (@RajenNaidoo12) July 26, 2019
The taste is meh, but the price isn't bad.
Energy comes in a 300ml can, as opposed to Red Bull's standard 250ml cans.They have an identical concentration of 32mg of caffeine per 100 millilitres, there's just 20% more millilitres in the Coke drink.
Despite that difference in size, the recommended selling price for Energy is R15, R5 cheaper than Red Bull.
However, Energy does not contain a headline ingredient in Red Bull: taurine. Taurine is an amino acid important in several of the body's metabolic process and is believed to increase mental performance when combined with caffeine, hence its use in energy drinks.
We were not a big fan of the Energy taste, though. It's a little like a watered-down version of Iron Brew, and less sweet than Red Bull.
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