In case you haven’t heard, energy drinks are back — big time. According to data from Circana, energy drink sales were up 14.6 percent in 2023, amassing a whopping $14.1 billion. Driven in part by the public’s growing interest in functional beverages, the energy drink industry isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. Custom Market insights predicts that the category will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3 percent through 2033.
But despite their popularity, buzz-inducing drinks have continued to come under fire for their often-extreme caffeine content. Panera Bread faced two wrongful death lawsuits in 2023 involving its since-discontinued Charged Lemonade, and the year prior, Logan Paul-backed Prime Hydration was sued for purportedly misleading customers regarding its caffeine content and alleged inclusion of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a.k.a. “forever chemicals.” With so many energy drinks on the market — and so much controversy surrounding them — it’s important to know just how much caffeine is in the nation’s most popular cans.
In what may come as a shock to some, Red Bull, the U.S.’s largest energy drink brand, actually ranks fairly low in terms of caffeine content with just 80 milligrams per 8.4 ounce can. (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends a maximum daily caffeine intake of 400 milligrams for healthy adults.) Comparatively, Celsius — one of the category’s fastest-growing brands — packs a whopping 200 milligrams of caffeine per can. And major player Monster Energy has a wide range of offerings with
