1. The Energy Drink category is not dying. Ofcourse it's not growing like a weed like it was a couple years ago but this is natural in any maturing category. Bottom line, on the net whole, retailers will add more space in their sets for ED's in 2008 than they had in 2007. This is a fact. The reason is because it's one of the only segments in the beverage biz that continues to show double digit growth.

2. I am slightly concerned about looming regulation. When and if it comes all the blame may be lodged on a few stupid companies who decide to push the limits too far in an attempt to get attention/be more extreme than the next guy. Examples of brands almost about to ruin it for the rest of us would be:

-High potency ED's ( I would put Redline in this category, sorry Greg)
-Monster 32oz (just a matter of time before this shi*t hits the fan on this one, MARK MY WORDS)
-Drinks with stupid drug names (Cocaine/Blow etc)