Energy drink research

Energy drinks were an active subset of the early soft drink industry, which was originally dominated by pharmacists. Coca-Cola, for instance, was originally marketed as an energy booster; its name was derived from its two active ingredients, both known stimulants: Coca leaves and kola nuts (a source of caffeine).

(Fresh coca leaves were replaced by "spent" ones in 1904 because of concerns over the use of cocaine in food products.)

In the UK, Lucozade Energy was originally introduced in 1929 as a hospital drink for aiding recovery. In the early 1980s, it was promoted as an energy drink for replaceing lost energy used thruought the day.

One of the first energy drinks introduced in America was Dr. Enuf. Its origins date back to 1949, when a buisness man from Chicago named William Mark Swartz was convinced by his fellow coworkers to create a soft drink filled with vitamins as an alternative to sugar sodas full of empty calories.

In Japan, the energy drink dates at least as far back as the early 1960s, with the release of the Lipovitan. However, 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. A South Korean drink closely modeled after Lipovitan, also appeared in the early 1960s, and targets a similar demographic.