Keeping up your stamina with energy drinks
Keeping up your stamina with energy drinks
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Energy drinks are becoming increasingly popular. Various
brands of energy drinks can now be found in supermarkets and even
on the street, in stalls or kiosks.
Despite the specific function of energy drinks -- they are not
just a liquid refreshment such as water or tea -- the market for
the relatively new beverage has grown rapidly in Indonesia.
Consumption of energy drinks was initially confined to drivers
of public transportation, working at night and desperate to stay
alert. Now, the product's diversity and popularity means that
athletes and sports enthusiasts, students, professionals and
those with a passion for outdoor adventure are buying the liquid
to give them stamina.
Often with a high caloric value and vitamin enriched,
consumers can quickly regain energy lost due to over exertion.
They may also use the drinks to prepare for high intensity
activity.
Executives of energy drinks companies ensure that the drinks
are safe for consumption and have no side effects, provided that
no more than the recommended three bottles or three sachets per
day is consumed.
However, children, pregnant women and those with serious
heart problems are not recommended to use energy drinks because
the products may speed up the heart rate.
Energy drinks sometimes claim to increase libido but one
energy drink producer said actually that wasn't substantiated
(but), "when you have consumed an energy drink you might feel
like you are in top condition and that might increase your sex
drive," he said.
Kratingdaeng, Lipovitan, M-150, Fit Up, Extra Joss and
Hemaviton are among the brands on the market. They pack the
shelves of shops, available by the bottle or in a soluble sachet
or tablet.
Most local energy drink producers work in cooperation with
foreign producers such as Kratingdaeng of Thailand and Japan's
Lipovitan.
Others operate their own factories and produce only their own
brands. PT Konimex Indonesia, for example, produces Fit Up and
PT Bintang Toedjoe produces Extra Joss. There are also other
companies that serve only to import overseas brands.
The materials used in producing energy drinks are mostly
imported. Energy drinks vary in composition and the energy boost
comes from diverse sources such as: taurine, royal jelly, guarana
extract, inositol, multi-vitamins and caffeine.
Bottled energy drinks here are priced at between Rp 2,500 to
Rp 3,000 (about 35 US cent) a bottle. Drinks in the form of a
powder or tablet are cheaper at between Rp 700 and Rp 1,000.
The increasing demand for the product means that the energy
drink business has flourished but manufacturers face fierce
competition as pharmaceutical companies compete to produce more
popular versions.
In the early 1990s, Kratingdaeng energy drinks were all
imported from Thailand. In 1997, its distributor -- PT Asia
Sejahtera Perdana Pharmaceutical -- built a factory in Cicurug,
Sukabumi, West Java, in cooperation with Thai producers, to meet
the surge in local demand.
Kratingdaeng are also sold in Europe and the U.S. under the
brand name Red Bull.
PT Asia Sejahtera Perdana Pharmaceutical (ASPP)'s General
Manager Riko Sistanto said that sales had been promising over the
last few years. "At present our company can sell up to 200
million bottles a year," he said.
Currently, Kratingdaeng controls between 70 percent and 80
percent of the market in Java, he added.
He says that Kratingdaeng products are hygienic and safe for
consumption because they are produced under international
guidelines.
Kratingdaeng uses mountain spring water as a base for the
drink. "The materials are processed without skin contact to
ensure that they are perfectly sterile," said Riko.
Other pharmaceutical producers of energy drinks are PT Bintang
Toedjoe and the Surakarta-based PT Konimex Indonesia.
PT Bintang Toedjoe, the producers of Extra Joss, have been in
the business for several years. The company also reported a
significant increase in sales.
"Many enjoy Extra Joss because of its 'freshness' and at an
affordable price of below Rp1000 per sachet, we are gaining a
wider market," PT Bintang Toedjoe's Assistant Marketing Director,
Ferdinand Aryanto, said.
"Those whose jobs are particularly energetic consume Extra
Joss as an everyday drink," he added.
The Surakarta-based PT Konimex Indonesia also enjoys popular
consumption of its drink, Fit Up.
The company whose main buyers are hard laborers produces the
energy drink in the form of a tablet.
"Most of our consumers are hard workers, including drivers who
are working at night and it is more convenient for them to carry
the drink in a tablet form," said Fit Up's spokesman.