Monster Energy Brand Reels After Lawsuit, FDA Inquiry Into Deaths

by Dale Buss





Energy-drink brands are on their toes after a lawsuit alleging that overconsumption of Monster beverages contributed to the deathof a 14-year-old girl and the revelation that the Food & Drug Administration isinvestigating "incident reports" introducing the possibility that as many as five peoplehave died over the last three years from drinking Monster.
Investors slammed shares of Monster, one of the two biggest players in the energy-drink market along with leader Red Bull, sending Monster stock down by 14 percent on Monday and down another 8 percent by mid-day Tuesday. But with headlines such as "Killer Caffeine," Monster and its industry also must focus on the long-term effects of these latest developments.
Energy drinks have been in the bullseye of many nutritionists, policymakers and parents for a long time because they offer no real nutritional benefits and only basically serve as a hyped-up delivery system for caffeine that is popular with kids. U.S. retail sales of energy drinks soared 16 percent last year to nearly $9 billion, according to Beverage Digest.
There may have been all sorts of extenuating circumstances in the death of Anais Fournier, the Maryland teenager, including the fact that she drank two 24-ounce cans of Monster within 24 hours before she died from cardiac arrest last December, and Monster warns on its label against overconsumption and that it's "not recommended for children or people sensitive to caffeine." Plus, the girl had a genetic condition that can make connective tissues such as blood-vessel walls flexible and weak.
Monster notes that its drinks have about 10 milligrams of caffeine an ounce, less than in some brands of brewed coffee. Under current FDA rules, companies aren't required to disclose caffeine levels in their beverages and can choose to market them as drinks or dietary supplements. The FDA is preparing to publish new guidance distinguishing liquid dietary supplements from beverages.
Nevertheless, as is being anticipated by investors, pressure will rise on Monster from this suit and the related revelations. And it brings back concerns similar to those about alcoholic Four Loko drinks containing caffeine in connection with the deaths of several youths in 2010.
The onus for dealing with this will lie on the brand marketers at Monster, Red Bull and other energy-drink players. They can't swear off teenagers because they're the biggest market for energy beverages. But they'd better re-examine their positioning before they don't have any choice in the matter.

About brandworldtv.com

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment