Monday, June 08, 2009

Red Bull Cola Cocaine Rumors Could Boost Drink Sales

Banning a substance virtually guarantees greater demand, (I.E. Alcoho prohibition in the U.S.)
I'm sure executives at Red Bull GmbH are secretly pleased by the widespread free exposure generated by cocaine rumors swirling around their beverage. Consumer uriousity  will probably propel sales internationally.

You may recall the controversial energy drink named Cocaine, made by Redux Beverages. The FDA swiftly responded and pulled the drink from store shelves forcing them to put a disclaimer on the drink.
Red Bull faced similar scrutiny from various food and drug regulation administrations, including Germany, China and the Phillipine's Food and Drug regulators. Recently, Red Bull responded to the claims by allowing an independent institute to analyze the drink. Following the study, Red Bull released an official statement. An excerpt reads:

We believe that Asian authorities mistakenly applied concerns about Red Bull Simply Cola to Red Bull Energy Drink, a completely different product with an entirely different formula...De-cocainized coca leaf extracts are used as flavoring in food products around the world and are considered to be safe. Indeed, in 21 C.FR. 182.20, the Food and Drug Administration regulations provide that it is acceptable and safe to use de-cocainized coca in food products in the United States.

 To compare Red Bull's rumors to the Coca-Cola incident, I did some research on  snopes.com, which verifies or disproves the claims of urban legends. Coke did in fact, at one point, contain cocaine. but according to snopes,the amount was 1/400 of a grain of cocaine per ounce of syrup.

Don't be surprised if the second quarter proves to be Red Bull's strongest of the year.

Posted By Matt O'Hern at 12:39 PM
Permanent Link: Red Bull Cola Cocaine Rumors Could Boost Drink Sales | Comments (3)

(3) Comments on Red Bull Cola Cocaine Rumors Could Boost Drink Sales

Read this blog post about the Red Bull Cocaine issue http://trust.md/te69r4

Comments by James : Monday, June 08, 2009 at 02:28 PM

With all this hype about the wrong products in our foods, who knows what's good anymore. Well, take a look at our site where you can find the healthiest alternative to this story. The reputation of a 25-year old company stands behind it. Hint: it's in a little green can and it tastes great!

Comments by Anita : Tuesday, July 07, 2009 at 09:01 AM

Cocaine (the drink) is terrible anyway.

Comments by E.T : Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 12:43 AM

Post a Comment