In addition to promoting athletecism among sports fans, the quadrennial Olympics were a golden opportunity for manufacturers to promote a wide selection of beverages that promise to boost energy and improve athletic performance. Despite the ban on the use of the term "energy drink" in China, the number of imported and locally produced drinks that claim to provide an energy boost has risen in recent years.

Targeting young adults and those who wish to counter the effects of insufficient sleep and fatigue, such drinks have seen an increased share of the beverage market following the introduction of the top dog of energy drinks, Red Bull, in 1995. However, the so-called energy drinks sold on the Chinese market, many of which use taurine as the main energy enhancer, vary in ingredients, energy-boosting effects and safety in terms of use during exercise or competitive sports.

What is an energy drink?

Energy drinks make up one of the three categories of "beverages with special functions" as stipulated in the updated General Standards for Beverages issued by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision and Standardization Administration of 2008.

According to the regulations, energy drinks are classified as "drinks with other special functions" as they contain caffeine, taurine, and sugar together with other ingredients such as guarana and B vitamins.

Popular foreign brands include Red Bull, produced by Austrian company Red Bull Co., Ltd, and Lipovitan by Japan's Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, and various local brands such as More Energy by the Jianlibao Co., Ltd and Energy Drink by the Zhongwo Drink Co., Ltd.

The other two categories that fall under "beverages with special functions" are sports drinks and vitamin and amino acid beverages. The major ingredients in sports drinks are sodium, potassium and magnesium. They have been studied extensively and proven to be safe and effective for replenishing water and electrolytes in working muscles. Among them are Pocari Sweat, produced by Japan-Hong Kong joint venture Otsuka Sims Beverage Co., Ltd, and Super Ultima by the Japanese Suntory Holdings Limited.

Vitamin and amino acid beverages are usually rich in vitamins and offer an extra supplement of B vitamins. Drinks in this category include Mizone by the Guangzhou-based Robust Group and Scream by Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd.

As the term "energy drinks" is prohibited, many of these beverages are advertised under the guise of vitamin-functional or taurine-reinforced drinks despite that fact that they contain relatively large quantities of caffeine and sugar.

Growth alongside functional drinks 

Energy drinks began to be known in China following the introduction of Red Bull, with its popular slogan, "Drink Red Bull whenever you are sleepy or tired."

"Carbonated drinks have a nicer taste and color as the primary ingredients are sugar, pigments and flavor," said Beijing-based nutritionist Wu Hao. "But we've discovered that they are not very healthy, and as people are becoming more concerned with health, consumers are favoring more health-preserving drinks, such as functional beverages."

As energy drinks are not carbonated, they have grown in popularity alongside truly beneficial beverages in the burgeoning Chinese market.

At a convenience store located near several office buildings in Chaoyang district, energy drinks are wildly popular among a selection that includes carbonated beverages, Chinese herbal teas and other supplemental drinks.

"I have customers who get an energy drink every day, and most of them are office workers," said the shop owner, who declined to give his name. "They rely on these drinks to boost their energy, as advertised on the bottle."

Though the shop does not keep a record of its sales, the owner estimated that sales would increase if the products, priced at around 5 yuan (79 US cents), were cheaper.

Do energy drinks really work?

Carmen Wu, a recent college graduate, recalled a time when she and her classmates downed some energy drinks one morning before they were going to take a sports exam.

"Almost everyone in my class drank a can of Red Bull before we ran the 50-meter race. None of us were really sure whether it would work and boost our performance. I think most of us did it to get a sort of placebo effect from what the advertisements say would happen," she told Metro Beijing.

Red Bull sponsors the China National Badminton Team with the slogan "Create new legends with energy," and the local brand Energy Drink is one of the sponsors of China's National Basketball Team.

Most energy drinks contain taurine. However, according to Wu Hao, taurine is not an approved energy booster when combined with sugar. Caffeine can also help consumers feel charged for a while, but "the primary energy suppliers in the body are sugar, fat and protein."

Both Red Bull Extra and its earlier iteration in a gold can contain ingredients that are typical of energy drinks: taurine, lysine, caffeine, water and sugar. Recca 6 Horas, produced by the Guangzhou-based Recca Food and Drink Ltd, contains taurine, caffeine, water and sugar. Energy Drink contains water, sugar, syrup and taurine as well as other additives.

Although taurine is advertised as a spectacular energy booster, it in fact doesn't work until the body burns all the energy it gets from the sugar in these drinks, Wu Hao explained.

"Usually the energy provided by the sugar in one bottle of Red Bull, for example, is more than enough for a person to burn off, let alone the energy from taurine, which can only take effect with the breakdown of protein."

"It is more like drinking a bottle of water with sugar, which is healthier as it does not have food additives," said Wu Hao. Therefore, she said, the major source of energy in these drinks comes from the sugar, and their advertising is merely a gimmick.

Not suitable for everyone

Wu advised that the so-called energy drinks on the market are not for everyone, and excessive use of the drinks may cause other health-related problems. Excessive consumption of energy drinks can cause various health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and kidney problems. 

"Energy drinks with high doses of caffeine should not be consumed by children, seniors or pregnant women, as the excessive intake of such drinks can cause a general loss of appetite, as well as tooth decay particularly among teenagers," Wu noted.