Icelanders And Their Unabashed Love For Energy Drinks

Energy drinks in Iceland are more than some funky statement of fact. It’s more essentially, an actionable verb where the ground reality lies in the local markets of Iceland. Forget the snowy mountains, the gorgeous ravines, the valleys besotted with flowers and beautiful sun rays, what’s surreal and captivating right now are the energy drinks in Iceland.

Yeah, you read that right sans any errors or misconceptions.

In a country naturally blessed with the boundless bounty of Mother Nature, it’s energy drinks in Iceland that are creating the right kind of noise in the fizzy beverages market.

And truth be told, where it stands currently, then given their massive popularity, the energy drinks in Iceland would have created far-reaching headlines in different parts of the world if the growing passion of the Icelandic youngsters towards canned drinks goes unchecked.

Well, not that there’s any irreparable harm in that. Although, there’s a windfall gain for the makers and producers of energy drinks in Iceland for sure.

Now one might wonder as to what has happened in one of the most gorgeous albeit least populated of all European countries? What explains the unabashed love of the Icelanders toward energy drinks? So for that, here’s what you ought to know.

The simple, uncomplicated slice of truth is that the Icelanders quite simply love energy drinks. To a normal Icelander, the fondness for an energy drink is what a Frenchman’s love is toward a Quiche or of an American’s toward French Fries. There you go; it’s as simple as that.

Always looking for new sources of energy, truth be told, the average Icelanders seem to have found some passion in canned drinks. And it’s not that this is some random phenomenon.

Simply take the data from the recent years and it’s all there for one to see.

In the recent years, there seems to have been an explosion of sorts- to put it aptly- in the energy beverage market down in Iceland. There’s been an explosion in the sales of these beverages.

The market has grown fivefold in four years, and last year, the nation spent more than ISK 3 billion (USD 24 million; EUR 22 million) on the product.

And it could be just one of those phases where a consumer eatable/drinkable product experiences astronomically successful demand. Take Starbucks, for instance.

Regardless of the fact that in countries like Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany the average cup of coffee costs way too much when compared to other destinations in Europe such as Italy, there’s been no dearth in the popularity of the famous American coffee-maker.

Marketers, one assumes, may not really point to any specific reason that explains the upward demand. Some things are just meant to be.

But what sufficiently explains or attempts to explain the upward demand of energy drinks in Iceland is the finding by the popular “Iceland Monitor,” which suggested the following:

Nocco, a Swedish brand, produced in Austria, dominates the energy drink market in Iceland, with more than 33 percent market share, according to estimates. It is followed by Monster, Red Bull (produced in Austria) and Euroshopper in popularity. Thereafter comes Collab, an Icelandic caffeinated beverage, which includes collagen. It is estimated that altogether 15 million units of energy drinks were sold in Iceland last year.

Much has been reported in the media lately on the harmful health effects of energy drinks. Children are warned not to consume them, since they are very sensitive toward caffeine.

Suggested Read: Staggering Percentage of Europe’s Trees Risk Extinction

This week, attention was brought to the fact that in the country’s secondary schools, daily consumption of caffeinated energy drinks increased from 22 percent of students to 55 percent from 2016 to 2018.

Health officials warn that such excessive caffeine intake severely affects young people’s sleep habits, endurance and general well being.