XS Energy Drink is an energy drink

Energy drink

Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....

 manufactured by a California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

-based company, and exclusively distributed by Amway

Amway

Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...

 Global (formerly Quixtar

Quixtar

Amway Global is a multi-level marketing or network marketing company, founded 1959 in Ada, Michigan, United States...

 in North America) in the USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the UK and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Product information

XS Energy states they were the first to make an energy drink in a specific flavor and the first to use the 'Sugar Free' label. It was never intended nor marketed to be a diet drink. The first energy tea was also introduced by XS Energy and now there are two in their line up. Both are non carbonated and contain green tea.

The company's focal point is to bring flavors that consumers love without the carbs and sugar. They are available in a variety of flavors, including three that are caffeine

Caffeine

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...

-free. All of the XS Energy Drinks, except the caffeine-free flavors, have approximately 83 milligrams of caffeine. This is about 25% more than a one ounce shot of espresso

Espresso

Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....

. In contrast, a tall cup of Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

 coffee contains approximately 225 mg of caffeine, while a 12 ounce can of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 contains 34 mg of caffeine. XS drinks contains nearly the same amount of caffeine as market leader Red Bull

Red Bull

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...

. The drinks contain between zero and two grams of carbohydrates, and hold between eight and sixteen calories, chiefly from the amino acids taurine and glutamine

Glutamine

Glutamine is one of the 20 amino acids encoded by the standard genetic code. It is not recognized as an essential amino acid but may become conditionally essential in certain situations, including intensive athletic training or certain gastrointestinal disorders...

. They are sweetened with Acesulfame potassium

Acesulfame potassium

Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free artificial sweetener, also known as Acesulfame K or Ace K , and marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. In the European Union, it is known under the E number E950...

 (Ace K) and less than one half gram of sucralose

Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body and therefore it is non-caloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose , twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3...

 instead of sugar. They also contain a variety of adaptogenic herbs

Adaptogen

An adaptogen is a herbal product claimed to increase resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. The term is used mainly by herbalists who also refer to adaptogens as rejuvenating herbs, qi tonics, rasayanas, or restoratives...

 (except the caffeine-free), including Eleutherococcus senticosus

Eleutherococcus senticosus

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a species of small, woody shrub in the family Araliaceae native to Northeastern Asia. It is often colloquially referred to as Siberian Ginseng or eleuthero, and is sometimes shortened to E. senticosus in medical literature. E...

, Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium, Schisandra

Schisandra

Schisandra is a genus of shrub commonly grown in gardens. It is a hardy deciduous climber which thrives in virtually any soil; its preferred position is on a sheltered shady wall. It may be propagated by taking cuttings of half-matured shoots in August. Species include S. chinensis, S....

, Astragalus

Astragalus

Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

, Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the genus Echinacea. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always purple. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest United States...

, and Reishi, and are high in B vitamins. According to the distributor, the drinks are packaged in 8.4 ounce (250ml) size cans because that size fits in briefcases and purses, minimizes waste, and can be more comfortably held.

Growth

In a 2003 survey by BevNet.com XS Citrus Blast was ranked the third most popular Diet Energy Drink ranked on consumer taste/appearance. The company's six-month forecast for sales was sold the first weekend with Quixtar. According to David Vanderveen, co-founder of the XS brand, XS Energy Drinks did over $51 million in retail sales in its first year with Quixtar (September 2002 - August 2003), which he stated made it the number 2 selling energy drink in North America. Sales for the second year were over $72 million, $90+ million the third year and over $120 million the fourth. By the end of the fourth year, 2006, XS was the fastest growing energy drink brand, with more than 5 million cases sold that year.

External links

• http://www.xsblast.com/ XS Energy Drink Official Website