Manufacture your own energy drink

If you've been in a convenience store lately, you've probably noticed a proliferation of energy drinks. Red Bull was the pioneer (founded by a couple of Austrians who drank the original, uncarbonated version, called Krating Daeng, in Thailand), but nowadays, Rockstar, BooKoo, and dozens of others crowd the shelves and refrigerators of your 7-Eleven and gas station mini-mart. What they all seem to have in common is:

• sugar (although some diet ones have sucralose instead)
• caffeine, and lots of it
• some herbs that are supposed to give you energy, like ginseng
• vitamins, supposedly to help give you energy, as well
• taurine, an amino acid; I think it was supposed to conjure an image of a bull (taurus)
• a pretty consistent, bubble gum-like flavor

Krating Daeng came first, then Red Bull. Why is Red Bull a recognized name among twenty-something partiers, and Krating Daeng only known in Thailand? MARKETING. Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz used to work in marketing for Procter & Gamble, one of the world's marketing giants.

Mateschitz gave Red Bull:

• a name and a brand
• a catchy tagline ("it gives you wings")
• a fetching design, based on the original logo
• carbonation; Krating Daeng is uncarbonated, and thus tastes a little like medicine (the clunky brown bottle doesn't help, either)
• distribution in the US and Europe, far bigger markets than Thailand
• advertising and promotion

Two words: contract manufacturing. There are hundreds of companies that will make what you tell them to make. They'll produce and bottle it for you, and sometimes even help you formulate it. Many have standard energy drink formulas, that you can alter the flavor, color or ingredient profile of to make your product unique.

Here are a few companies that can do this:

• Pro-Liquitech in Kentucky
• Adirondack Beverages in Scotia, New York
• Beverage Capital Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland
• TechnoBev in Quebec
• Power Trip Beverages, Inc. in Miami, Florida

Sweeteners:

• sugar
• high fructose corn syrup
• crystalline fructose
• sucralose (Splenda)
• acesulfame-K
• aspartame

Acidulants (makes it sour):

• citric acid
• phosphoric acid
• malic acid

Nutritional supplements:

• Vitamins B6, B12, C, E, Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamine and Pantothenic Acid
• Taurine (an amino acid)
• Caffeine
• Glucuronolactone
• Inositol
• Bee Pollen
• Herbal extracts, such as ginseng, guarana, milk thistle, ginkgo biloba, damiana, horny goat weed, yerba mate and rosemary

Preservatives:

• sodium benzoate
• potassium sorbate
• no preservatives (pasteurization)

Colors: Range from colorless to dark brown (using caramel color) to bright red, yellow and orange.

Flavors (natural and artificial):

• citrus
• lemon
• berry
• mango
• cherry
• grapefruit