New Energy Drink - Cocaine
by Ian Harding
A new energy drink has been hitting the shelves of stores around New York City and Long Island and it's called Cocaine. Slated as "the legal alternative", it has sprung controversy around the city.
The senior partner and founder of the company that created the drink, James Kirby, dismissed arguments that their new energy drink would lead to drug use, BUT, did described it as an alternative to the real thing. "People know the difference; I don't think people will look at our drink and say, 'Oh, I'm going to buy some real cocaine,'" he said. He picked the name knowing it would generate controversy and free promotion and it has done just that. "Cocaine is associated with energy, and we're allowed to do this."
What a brilliant move. This guy has done what so many other companies were affraid of doing and now, he has a drink that he barely needs to market. Just the name itself is selling his product and he loves it. The website for Cocaine even refers to stores that sell the product as "dealers". Genius.
On a side note, I have to say I am pretty amazed at the number of energy drinks on the market today. Here in Calgary we only see the tip of the iceberg. During my travels around the United States, I saw stores that had entire walls lined with many different types of energy drinks, most of which I had never heard of before. I'm not even a huge fan of these bevarages as not only do most not taste very good (personal opinion), but I see no need to pump my body full of that much caffeine at one time. I'm also not a coffee drinker, so thats probably part of it as well. Actually, Cocaine (the drink... *wink) has one of the highest levels of caffeine among popular drinks.
Starbucks coffee (16 oz.) 372 mg
Cocaine Energy Drink (8.4 oz.) 280 mg
Red Bull (8.3 oz.) 80 mg
Mountain Dew (12 oz.) 55 mg
Pepsi (12 oz.) 38 mg
Coke (12 oz.) 34 mg