The last several years have seen a proliferation of energy drinks on the market. The contents and health effects of these beverages, however, often remain something of a mystery. The purpose of this sample case study provided by Ultius is to conduct a study energy drinks. If you have to compile a case study for your own project, why not purchase a sample case-study from Ultius like this one. You'll find that once you have a reliable point of reference, writing your case study will be much easier. This particular case study is organized into four main parts. The first part will consist of a general overview of energy drinks and their popularity. The second part will then turn to a consideration of the specific case of Monster Beverage Company. After this, the third part will consider the apparent health effects of and recommendations regarding energy drinks. Finally, the case study will conclude with a critical reflection on the wisdom (or lack thereof) of consuming energy drinks on a regular basis.
Case study on energy drinks: An overview
To start with, then, as the name of the concept clearly indicates, an energy drink is a beverage that is chemically calibrated to provide an energy boost to the human body.
| XS Citrus Blast | Red Bull | Sobe Adrenaline Rush | Impulse |
| l-taurine | taurine | taurine | taurine |
| l-glutamine | glucuoronolactone | d-ribose | glucuoronolactone |
| caffeine | l-carnitine | caffeine | |
| caffeine |
Almost all energy drinks contain sugar, whether in the form of sucrose or high fructose corn syrup (Heidemann and Urquhart). Sugar consumption in modern society is at an all-time high. Several of the basic ingredients in energy drinks are shared by common sodas such as Coca-Cola; however, energy drinks are specifically enhanced with other chemicals beyond caffeine that are meant to make the body feel energized.
It is clearly this benefit of a burst of felt energy that is the main appeal of energy drinks for just about everyone who consumes them. Most people probably have some reservations about whether energy drinks truly are good for their health; however, the immediate rush of consuming the beverages often overrides any engagement with long-term concerns.
Many people depend on coffee to start their day. Caffeine boosts energy and causes you to feel more alert and awake. Since these effects wear off after a few hours, you may experience a mid-afternoon lull shortly after lunch. Energy drinks can provide the extra oomph that you seek in order to get through your day. (Aufiero)
Of course, if a person consistently finds himself in need of the help of an energy drink, this is potentially symptomatic of some lack of emotional stability or physical well-being in life as a whole; but again, the immediate assistance that an energy drink can provide tends to make people decide to consume the beverage now and ask questions later.
Controversy over energy drinks
Over time, significant controversies have arisen over several energy drinks. For example, the popular energy drink known as Four Loko, which combined the standard chemicals of an energy drink with alcohol, now, no longer exists in its traditional form. An article written by Brian Feldman of The Atlantic highlights:
Though introduced into the marketplace back in 2005, Four Loko gained notoriety in the fall of 2010 when it became popular among teenagers and on college campuses and led to reports of heightened binge drinking and dangerous consequences.
Essentially, the energy component of Four Loko enabled people to consume alcohol in greater quantity and for greater duration than they otherwise might have—which, of course, was disastrous, from a health and safety perspective. The company responsible for Four Loko was thus compelled to stop selling such a product. It's since had a majority of it's energy drink component removed. This is only an example of general tension between the makers and consumers of energy drinks, versus health advocates.
The health effects of energy drinks
Now is the time to consider the health effects of energy drinks. Some of the most important findings thus far can be found in a study commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO). The National Health Service reports:
The researchers described a number of potential health risks, mainly associated with the high caffeine content of the drinks, as well as the risks of combining them with alcohol. They also found that policy regarding energy drinks is limited and call for more long-term research and policy action.
That last line calls attention again to the fact that in terms of regulation, energy drinks have somewhat flown under the radar thus far. The chemical punch that they pack has been curiously unregulated. Especially if you consider the regulations that have generally been imposed on other products that contain strong chemical compounds.
The habitual aspect of energy drinks
It is worth noting that the main health concern regarding energy drinks mainly has not so much to do with the occasional consumption, but rather with habitual and long-term consumption of the beverages. The problem is that once consumers become accustomed to energy drinks, they begin to respond to the product just as they would to any other drug. The drug becomes a natural and streamlined part of their lives, and they may often find themselves needing to consume greater and greater quantities in order to achieve the same high, due to the process of desensitization. This can lead to a spiral in which consumers regularly consume large amounts of energy drinks over a period of years. This is when the real health concerns begin to enter the picture. Energy drinks provide the body with a rush that is inherently artificial, and the body may have a hard time sustaining that over the long term without experiencing a significant degree of wear and tear.
Anna Medaris Miller of U.S. News & World Report describes one case of excessive energy drink consumption:
"It all started with three or four cans of Mountain Dew a day. That was in high school. Then, in college, it was 5-Hour Energy. Two shots a day, to be exact. Later, it was a 20-ounce can of Monster each morning." At one point, Aaron Templin, now 36, had to stop, after beginning to feel things akin to what he has described as an out-of-body experience.
“I don’t even know how to describe it. It was too much energy – way too much energy,” says the customer service worker in Gaithersburg, Maryland, who now mostly drinks coffee and water. “It was like an out-of-body experience. It was pretty crazy.”
This is generally how the pattern of consumption of energy drinks escalates, and this is what makes energy drinks potentially so dangerous. Except for certain persons who should avoid energy drinks altogether, people in general could probably rest assured that a can of Monster here or there is probably not going to cause any serious health issues. The problem, though, is that consumption seldom stops at just a can here or there; rather, it spirals into a pattern that in truth resembles the basic pattern of addiction to any drug.
The case against Monster Energy Drink
Monster is a popular energy drink on the market today. The company responsible for this product can be described in the following way:
From a small beginning as a fresh juice business, Monster Beverage Corporation emerged as a leader in energy drinks. It has a 14% market share in the world's energy drink market. It's only behind Red Bull GmbH (Bailey).
Although the company still has several products in its portfolio, its main focus clearly consists of energy drinks, which accounted for 92.7 percent of the company's sales in 2013. Monster competes not only with other energy drink companies, but also with large companies such as Coca-Cola who has since purchased a $2.15b stake in the company in 2014 as reported by Forbes. It is perhaps somewhat ironic that a juice company would transform itself in this direction; however, it is fairly clear that the company has capitalized on an existing market opportunity in a very effective way.
Recently, though, a lawsuit was filed against Monster Beverage Corporation by the legal firm Morgan and Morgan alleging:
One of the plaintiffs who drank about six Monsters a day for five years suffered from a stroke. . .. Morgan and Morgan said there's dozens of more suits coming over the multi-billion-dollar industry including the makers of Rockstar, 5-Hour and Red Bull. Among the allegations: energy drinks are target[ing] children getting them hooked. There aren't proper warnings on the products or full disclosure of side effects (Waxler).
Of course, one could suggest that it defies any sort of common sense to actually consume six cans of energy drinks every day for a period of five years. The broader point being the fact that energy drinks are relatively unregulated, that people may not have an adequate idea of what the potential health effects of consumption are. It's not hard to imagine that a company such as Monster is not especially interested in enlightening the general public in this regard.
Critical Reflection
A key point in the above case study is that the real danger of energy drinks emerges from the fact that energy drinks tend to lend themselves to long-term abuse, and that people tend to seriously underestimate the strength of the drugs found in most popular energy drinks. It's likely casual consumers simply do not see energy drinks as having serious addiction potential. The fact of the matter is that many consumers of energy drinks do become addicted to the artificial rush produced by the chemicals in the beverages. The worry for those who consume large quantities of energy drinks over time is that they may potentially cause serious harm to the body, the mind, or both. Some studies have suggested a link between excessive caffeine consumption and schizophrenia.
In may seem absurd that a company such as Monster could be liable for a consumer who consumed six cans a day for a span of five years. This would logically seem to be a gross lack of common sense on the part of the consumer themselves. Common logic would dictate that anyone "should" know that energy drinks are not meant to be consumed in that way. A deeper point, though, may consist of the simple fact that energy drinks often lend themselves to this kind of excessive consumption. The chemical composition of the products themselves can be suggested to hook consumers on the products over time. This would mean that the man in the case regarding Monster may not be as exceptional as it seems at first, but rather emblematic of many energy drink consumers around the world. If this is indeed the case, it is very clear that health regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin developing and implementing more rigorous policy controls on the manufacture and sale of energy drinks. As the situation stands at the present time, a relatively powerful drug is being sold on the market with very little regulation—a situation that is quite uncommon within most developed nations in the world today.
Conclusion
In summary, the present essay has consisted of a sample case study on energy drinks. If you need help with writing your own case study, or any other kind of essay, consider buying one for reference from Ultius. Ultius offers a huge variety of custom writing services and writers who are specialists on every topic. This sample case study from Ultius has developed an overview of energy drinks, considered the case of one popular energy drink, discussed the health effects of energy drinks, and finally reflected on the implications in a critical way. The main conclusion is that energy drinks contain a powerful mixture of chemicals that lend themselves to addiction and abuse on the part of consumers over time. Energy drinks are thus nowhere near as innocuous as they may seem, and strong regulations on their production and distribution are very much in order. In short, energy drinks should be treated not as a relative of Coca-Cola, but rather as products containing drugs with serious addiction potential.
Works Cited
Aufiero, Barbara. "Why Do People Buy Energy Drinks." Livestrong. 2 Jul. 2015. Web. 14 Aug. 2016. https://www.livestrong.com/article/423042-why-do-people-buy-energy-drinks/.
Bailey, Sharon. "An Overview of Monster Beverage Corporation." Market Realist. 5 Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Aug. 2016. https://articles.marketrealist.com/2015/01/overview-monster-beverage-corporation/
Feldman, Brian. "R.I.P. for Four Loko, 2005-2014." The Atlantic. 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Aug. 2016. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/rip-four-loko/359602/
Heideman, Merle, and Gerald Urquhart. "A Can of Bull? Do Energy Drinks Really Provide a Source of Energy?" Science Cases. n.d. Web. 14 Aug.2016. http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/files/energy_drinks.pdf
Miller, Anne Medaris. "Are Energy Drinks Really That Bad?" U.S. News & World Report. 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Aug. 2016. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2015/01/16/are-energy-drinks-really-that-bad
National Health Service. "Warnings Issued over Energy Drinks." 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Aug. 2016. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/10October/Pages/Warnings-issued-over-energy-drink-risks.aspx
Waxler, Erik. "Firm Files Lawsuit against Monster Energy Drinks Claiming Serious Health Effects." WKYC. 10 Feb. 2016. https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/nation-now/firm-files-lawsuit-against-monster-energy-drinks-claiming-serious-health-effects/39107893
McGrath, Maggie. "Coca-Cola Buys Stake in Monster Energy for $2.15 Billion" Forbes. Web. 14 Aug. 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2014/08/14/coca-cola-buys-stake-in-monster-beverage-for-2-billion/#269be2a6554a