SECOND POST!!!

[sodasommelier]

Like Shemp used to say on the Three Stooges... "We do it right the second time"!!!

Hey the best energy drinks are the ones in glass as is the case with all beverages anyway. Surge was right about that; the thimble can drinks suck pschitt!!!

Anyway more and more great energy drinks are coming out in glass including recently Lolli's Cherry Pop and Aphrodite! I also just tried the Sum Poosie drink and it's pretty good as well!!!

[ResQ Rob]

I wont argue that a can tastes better, because glass clearly tastes the best. To this day I still cant drink milk out of a plastic container, it's got to be either glass or a carton. Regardless, I will still argue an energy drinks place is in a can. A small thimble can at that.

Take sports activities for example, say you are skiing or snowboarding. Would you rather have a can in your pocket, or a glass bottle? Would you rather carry a 12-16oz can or bottle, or a small light 8.2oz can? How about if you were on your bike? Would you rather risk carrying a glass bottle in your jersey pocket? From a size perspective, it's going to be real hard to drink 12-16oz of any drink (especially an energy drink) then jump back into any physical activity. Think about running w/ 16oz of Rockstar in your stomach With an 8.2oz drink, no problem. Remember energy drinks are not thirst quenchers, just like coffee is not a thirst quencher. Energy drinks serve a purpose, and that can easily be achieved w/ only 8.2 oz of a good energy drink.

How about behind the bar? Ask any bar manager, and they will say they would way rather deal w/ cans than glass bottles. Less chance of breakage behind the bar, and it's far less of a liability on the dance floor. A can you can open up w/ one hand, a bottle takes 2. From a size perspective, 8.2 oz is perfect for either 2 small mixed drinks, or 1 big bad boy.

There is definitely a place for 12-16oz energy drinks (and glass bottles) honestly I would love to make a 16oz version of ResQ but that's not our angle right now. 16 oz are great to ease into during a long drive, I tend to pound my drink so hard and fast, I will literally be sucking the last drops out of the can. Honestly it can be a bit disappointing when you have no drink left after a couple large gulps...so I buy another can

[sodasommelier]

Well, for a bar I'd recommend a cool little 6oz glass bottle with a twist crown cap. You know, all of that is true about people snowboarding but I think that most beverage [and energy drink] consumption isn't right in the middle of doing physical activities. When there's a will there's a way. I drink 1-L glass bottles of Santa Lucia Water (non-carbonated) while driving my car on the freeway. It looks like a champagne bottle and it's not resealable. But it is the best and so that's what I have and I have a crate between the two car seats where I can put the bottles upright. In the summer this is an ice chest area. I never buy drinks at the drive-thru and never drink can or plastic drinks. If there's a beach with signs all over saying no glass, I go to another beach. I won't compromise what I want to succumb to lesser quality.

But anyway as for the thimble cans, I think that if you market a brand like that you are logically going to be compelled to be supportive of what you've got. My whole approach is from my true belief that every soda should be in a glass bottle that you can open with an opener. And doing things my way of course makes me happy and satisfied; conveniently lots of people think that what I sell is cool so I'm making some good money doing it which is certainly a plus. But even if I weren't in the biz I'd be hunting down these things for my own personal consumption; the difficulties in doing so originally caused me to hoard such drinks and thus my business started kind of by accident as I kind of stood out with all of my personal drinks and people always asked me to bring them one.

As for energy drinks, I only developed an interest in them once I saw them in glass. Of course I have to have everything in glass that is good, so hence I have a bunch of great energy drinks. From my perspective I sell a whole lot of them but I'm sure it's not even noticeable to Red Bull. But I'm not in the biz to show off to them or anyone else; I'm just doing what I think is necessary so that people like me don't have to go what I had to just to get decent glass sodas when they want them.

I have heard all of those arguments like what about a bunch of four-year-olds jumping around on a trampouline during a birthday party and what if they were drinking out of heavy deposit bottles and breaking them and getting cut and sued and so forth... Well, guess what; should I find myself in such a situation I'd probably pour from the bottle into a kiddie cup for the kids and keep my own beverages out of their reach until they were old enough to understand and respect the dangers of breaking glass. Gee whiz, were all of the kids in the 1920's interned in the hospital with broken glass shards all over themselves? People are too antiseptic these days and thus they accept reduced quality and forfeit aesthetics and good taste.

The only reason cans ever proliferated was because the US Gov't used to ship drinks and provisions to the GI's in the South Pacific during WWII and the prospect of bringing back empty deposit bottles was more costly than just littering a bunch of cheap cans. Once the bottlers noticed how convenient it was to ship it out and never see it come back, they started pushing consumers in that direction; once the can makers saw they could make a sale every time someone drinks rather than once in a while when a bottle breaks, they jumped on the bandwagon; finally when they created such a mess of litter and started indoctrinating kids about recycling and instigating trial lawyers to clean people out for liability related to broken glass etc ... so you have all of these cans and plastic. But they may be everywhere and lighter and more convenient and so forth, but you can go the further step and just have a tap on your kitchen sink if you're that worried about convenience.

I don't think I'd have the success I have now if people weren't fed up with the packaging and quality of mainstream products that are available today.

Not to get too far off the subject of energy drinks but I think that they deserve a small segment of the industry but I think most of them are overrated, hype products with kind of cheesy names and graphics. They usually are full of stuff that is not necessarily so good for your body even if they have a few vitamins or whatever. I think many people misuse them and even further this problem when they mix them with alcohol. I think it's fine to have an energy drink once in a while when you really need one but otherwise it's probably better to stay away from them. As for using them in the middle of a workout, I've heard alot of people say that that is not such a good idea but I'm not a doctor and I have heard so many opposing views that I haven't formed a firm opinion on that part of the equation. However, I'd say that the few times that someone can genuinely benefit from an energy drink... well, splurge for one that tastes good and comes in glass.

[ResQ Rob]

The tough thing about going glass for an energy drink is the product recognition. People see a bottle of Bawls, and the last thing they think is that it is an energy drink. When a person sees a 250ml can, they know instantly that it is an energy drink, regardless of the brand. Red Bull totally paved the way, and until someone else gains some market share w/ different packaging, I think that 8.2oz can is here to stay. It would take a big move by a huge player to change the notion of energy drink packaging. Hats off to companies like Bawls who actually are pulling it off, but I really think they are a tough compare to energy drinks.

[sodasommelier]

Yes you are right in one direction but in the other... when it's that thimble can people will see that if it's not Red Bull it should be cheaper. Anyway I'm always shooting at the whole picture which is the overall beverage experience. I realize that some people with tunnel vision will never sway from a path or stop long enough to see what's in their peripheral visual field, but I kind of think these are the same folks who will say "either Red Bull for $2 or cheapy copy for 59¢". Regardless, my concern isn't really for that part of the crowd. I think there are enough people fighting over that market; I just aim to please and to first and foremost please myself. So that's why I go for the glass. The Bawls is pretty good and I am the first guy who ever brought it west of the Mississippi and got it online. I also have a bunch of other glass energy drinks that are awesome and turn a great profit for us. Our clientele may not be as broad as Red Bull etc but we sure do well with what we've got!!

[Ron Swedelson]

The reason it is hard to compare BAWLS as an energy drink is cause we are not. I won't say its quite apples and oranges, but maybe Granny Smith Green Apples to Fugi Apples. BAWLS is more like a Jolt or a Mt. Dew. We are a great tasting Brazilian soda with more caffeine than any other drink on the market. No vitamins and minerals. Most drinks, if you take your daily flinstone vitamin, you will have more than your daily dose of vitamins. Also, the new trend comming for energy drinks are the 16 oz. cans. Parahna has a few flavors out, so does Crazy Larrys, Rock Star, Monster, USA Energy, Sobe Adrenaline Rush is comming out with one. I don't think anyone or anything will ever knock Red Bull on its ass. I don't think anything else will even be close to a Coke vs. Pepsi battle. More like Red Bull is Budweiser and they are truly the kings. We may not like it, but we can't deny it either.

[<littebaby>]

I think energy in glass is the way to go. I know I am just a dumb chick from South Beach but me and all my friends love that new one SumPoosie!
People can say what they want but it is the best I have seen. And I love guys reactions when I ask them if they would like a taste of my POOSIE!

[<kiss ass>]

Your an idiot! Now go lick the fence post and hope you don't get any splinters!

[Shatter]

Hey EnergyDude, who do you think you're fooling? Disguising yourself under the name of &lt;littlebaby&gt;? If you can't do anything other than pimp your lousy product on these forums, then just don't post here. No one's going to buy your drink if you beat them over the head with your corporate propaganda.

[sodasommelier]

Well, for what it's worth... actually that SumPoosie stuff is pretty good in flavor and the bottle I have in my office causes most everyone to pick it up and look it over; it sure is better than any 8oz or 16oz can of anything. As for Bawls being or not being an energy drink... it is kind of a crossover of various sorts. It's also not really like a Brazilian guaraná soda but it has a hint of this, a hint of that; anyway it's a pretty good drink and our customers like its package, flavor, and its kick. More caffeine than anything else? Who knows; I think most anyone touting caffeine shoves as much in there as possible as well as mixing it with all other sorts of stimulants. But whatever, it's surely among the drinks of that genre and it holds its weight. I'd pick Bawls or SumPoosie or even Jolt and certainly Lolli's Cherry Pop, Knetic, and even Fukola Cola over any canned energy drink any day; 16oz or 8oz or whatever.