In this post, we’ll talk about a brief history of the most popular energy drink as well as give you an updated 5HR Energy price guide.
Imagine the world in the 1970s. Bustling metropolises emerging from the post-war period, enormous corporations and small businesses competing for skill, and a resurgence of long workweeks in the West.
The environment was ripe for innovation for improving workplace efficiency. There was enormous demand for something that could keep someone engaged and focused with mental clarity for hours; the first energy drink.
Energy drinks have become ubiquitous on shelves around the world now, but the first energy drink had humble origins. First serving as an energy tonic in Japan, this tonic came packed with taurine, an ingredient still found in most energy drinks today.
Thousands of miles away in Thailand, this novel beverage came packed with a variety of ingredients from taurine, caffeine, and sugar to vitamin b-12 and caffeine meant to stimulate and energize field workers that spent long hours under manual labor.
This drink “hacked” the physiology of the human body to produce amazing energy that lasted for hours, allowing incredible amounts of work to be done with minimal downtime.
Like most recognizable brand names today, few take off and become global sensations without the help of a savvy business partner. Dietrich Mateschiz stumbled across this amazing drink and decided to bring its popularity across the world.
By 1984, the world’s first global energy drink had taken off in Europe and by 1997 it would reach the United States with great fanfare. Despite their enormous popularity around the world, energy drinks at the end of the 1990s were little more than glorified sodas.
At the time, there was little to no evidence to suggest that the dense amounts of sugar and caffeine were harmful to people, and companies at the time capitalized on it.
Commercials pushed these drinks to consumers by marketing to impressionable audiences that thought the drinks were meant to stimulate and energize you, not increase your weight and cause you to crash.
What was once a promise of a drink that could fuel your body to handle anything slowly became a synonym for a soda. There was a need for a real energy tonic.
Could there be a balance of caffeine without the jitters, the stimulation without the crash, and the energy without all the empty calories of sugars and artificial sweeteners?
Fortunately, this laid the groundwork for one of the most successful, proven energy drinks of all time. After years of searching, a seemingly miraculous drink made its humble entrance into the market before taking the world by storm.
A drink that would give you the impact of a coffee without the jitters, that was vegan, low calorie, and only used ingredients found in nature. That drink was 5-Hour Energy, popularly termed as 5HR Energy.
5HR Energy: The Origin Story
5HR Energy has a history just as unique as the energy drink itself. The drink was created in 2004 by an Indian immigrant and ex-monk by the name of Manoj Bhargava, who intended to create a sugar-free energy drink with no unusual or unknown stimulants.
Inspired by a 16-ounce creation sampled at a trade show, Bhargava set out to minimize and naturalize the energy drink market. A fascinating case study himself, Bhargava is an example of what simple innovation can create.
He spent his 20s in a character arc that grew from Princeton to traveling between Eastern monasteries, as he tried to master business through the art of meditation. Or, it may be said, the art of creating something out of nothing.
And considering that 5HR Energy has accumulated over 1 billion in earnings throughout the past decade, one could say he was certainly successful.
For years, the energy drink market has been saturated with over-hyped claims of “wonder drinks” that promise energy to consumers like lightning in a bottle and often come with serious health consequences.
These sensationalized claims led to drinks that came packed with sugary, nutrient-deficient ingredients that often didn’t deliver on their promise to customers. It was time to change the game.
Bhargava set out to create something that was holistic in nature, away from the over-processed filler of his competitors.
Inspired by his time as a monk, Bhargava took the lesson of using simple, ethically sourced ingredients to heart when creating a drink that not only could make people feel healthy drinking but did what it was designed to do – empower your day.
5HR Energy drinks have been around since 2004, and they have become one of the most popular energy drinks in the United States.
5HR Energy can also boast of being one of the most ethical choices for health-minded individuals and vegans; 5HR Energy is certifiably vegan. The company’s website states, “No animal products are added to 5-hour ENERGY® shots.”
The ingredients are mostly just water, vitamins, and caffeine. The taurine in 5HR Energy is synthetic and vegan. 5HR Energy also includes vitamin b12, a necessary nutrient that’s harder to come by in a vegan diet.
Everything in the bottle from the taurine to the vitamin b-12 has no animal-sourced ingredients and also meets all Kosher criteria. Unlike traditional energy drinks, 5HR Energy does away with all the artificial sugar and compounds that come packed with calories.
At only 4 cal per bottle, they’re practically invisible on the calories and easy on the scale!
5HR Energy Price, Variations, and Sizes
5HR Energy has a diverse selection of options available, all of which are free of sugar and extraneous chemicals.
| Variation | 6 Pack | 12 Pack | 24 Pack |
| Regular Strength | $12 – $16 | $28 – $35 | $56 – $62 |
| Extra Strength | $15 – $20 | $30 – $35 | $56 – $65 |
| Daily Immune Support | $12 – $15 | $20 – 25 | $30 – $32 |
Regular Strength and Extra Strength are 1.93 oz of energy in a small bottle, while the Decaf and Pink Lemonade variations are slightly smaller at only one ounce.
5HR Energy has a wide variety of flavors, including Berry, Orange, and Vanilla. The newest product from the company is the “Shot Block” which is designed to be taken before physical activity for an extra edge.
Pricing for these products varies depending on where they are purchased, but generally falls in the $25-35 range for a 12-pack.
5HR Energy is now making its way into the gym.
Following the philosophy of holistic ingredients that deliver serious results, 5HR Energy is introducing a pre-workout named “Shot Block”; designed to stimulate and promote blood flow, increase nitric oxide, and help you get the most out of your workout.
Think you have to pay a premium to experience a no-jitter, clean energy shot that actually works? Good news: 5HR Energy packs only cost a fraction of what you’d be paying for a low-grade, poor-quality energy drink.
You can get a pack of six 5HR Energy for as low as $13! Compared to other energy drinks, the price match is hard to beat. Getting the drink that works with ingredients you can feel good about is a no-brainer.
What’s In A Bottle of Energy?
The main ingredient in all the different variations of 5HR Energy is caffeine, which is no surprise given that it is an energy drink.
The amount of caffeine in each drink ranges from about 100 to 200 mg per serving, which is about the same as a cup of coffee. Other ingredients include B-vitamins and amino acids, which are said to help the body convert food into energy.
The energy drink contains only four calories per serving and no sugar, which is achieved by the use of sucralose as a sweetener. The main ingredients in the beverage are caffeine, B-vitamins, and amino acids including taurine and L-carnitine.
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that has been shown to improve mental alertness and vigilance.
B-vitamins are important for cellular metabolism and DNA synthesis, while taurine has been linked to improved cognitive function. L-carnitine is an amino acid that plays a role in energy production.
5HR Energy Alternatives
If you are looking for an alternative to 5HR Energy, there are plenty of other options available on the market.
Some of the most popular energy drinks include Monster, Red Bull, and Rockstar. These drinks all have a similar price point to 5HR Energy, and they also contain caffeine as their main ingredient.
However, 5HR Energy shows its superiority in terms of ingredients by not containing any sugar and only using naturally occurring vitamins and supplements to help give you energy.
Energy Drinks are Here to Stay
Energy drinks have now been in our refrigerators for more than half a century, and the industry is showing no signs of slowing down.
While the market was valued at almost $46bn at the turn of the decade, it’s expected to see explosive growth in the next ten years at a staggering $108bn, eclipsing other drink markets.
However, this growth comes with some caveats. Consumers across the globe are becoming more health-conscious, which has a great impact on the energy drink industry. As these markets expand, health considerations are now a major decision at the register.
As the world begins to wean off overly sweetened, artificial, and high sugar beverages, alternatives have room to take market share away from these less healthy, soda-type drinks. 5HR Energy has prepared for this transition two decades in advance.
By cutting out the sugar and other refined ingredients, it has met all the criteria to continue to appeal to customers that are increasingly health conscious, even as other competitors struggle to keep up.
While there is some hesitancy about zero-calorie drinks and the not well-understood ingredients therein, 5HR Energy can proudly claim that they not only give their customer a guilt-free energy drink, but they also only use ingredients that are familiar to all of us: essential amino acids, caffeine, vitamins and more.
This push for a healthy drink with the kick of a cup of coffee without the consequences and drawbacks of other artificial energy drinks has positioned 5HR Energy as a leader in the future of energy drinks.
It just goes to show that you don’t need to spend millions on manufactured hype and targeted advertising to convince your consumers you have a great product. You just need to get the truth out there.
5HR Energy stuck to a simple, elegant formula that was healthy, vegan, and kosher and allowed people to access the energy they wanted without the crash. If you’re looking for the future leader of energy drinks, look no further.
Health Effects: Caffeine, Sugar, and More
Like all energy drinks, there are some potential health risks associated with consuming too much caffeine. The Mayo Clinic recommends that healthy adults consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day, which is the equivalent of four cups of coffee.
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have any medical conditions, it is best to speak with a doctor before consuming energy drinks. In addition to the potential risks associated with caffeine, some energy drinks also contain high levels of sugar; luckily, 5HR Energy does not!
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a quick and easy energy boost, then look no further than 5HR Energy. These drinks have a long history dating back to 2004, and they have become one of the most popular energy drinks on the market.
With prices ranging from $25 to $35 for a 12-pack, these drinks are affordable and easy. Not only that, but each individual bottle is barely 2 ounces, making them easy to pack and carry, and equally easy to consume.
