PepsiCo’s Gatorade to roll out its new caffeinated sports energy drink

PepsiCo’s Gatorade is set to launch its newest drink for athletes under the Fast Twitch brand. The new sports beverage is a caffeinated energy drink that will be officially released nationally after its initial debut in the upcoming National Football League (NFL) season.

The new drink will mark Gatorade’s entrance into the energy drink category with caffeine which is a fast-growing business right now. Its parent company, PepsiCo already expanded its other brands such as Mountain Dew to the energy and alcoholic drink business and Gatorade is the latest subsidiary to add a new line of products.

As per CNBC, Gatorade’s Fast Twitch line is especially designed for athletes who always need an extra boost before working out or during big games. It has already released pre-workout energy powders to the market and other nutrition drinks for extra active individuals.

Gatorade’s general manager, Anuj Bhasin, said that about 32 million people have rejected the energy drink category due to some bad effects on health. The company’s Fast Twitch line is now aiming to attract these customers by formulating a new product with lots of caffeine but minus the carbonation and sugar.

As a result, Gatorade’s caffeinated energy drink is born. It will be sold in 12-ounce bottles featuring the brand’s usual bright color packaging. They are smaller compared to other traditional Gatorade drinks but each bottle of the newest Fast Twitch beverage contains 200 milligrams of caffeine, electrolytes, and B-vitamins.

To give an idea of how much caffeine it has, a 12-ounce can of the drink has as much caffeine as two 12-ounce cans of Red Bull. Another Gatorade product called Bolt24 only contains 75 milligrams of caffeine under its Energize line which will be discontinued.

“Two hundred milligrams is the right amount to help athletes seeking benefits for exercise performance,” Gatorade Sports Science Institute’s senior principal scientist, Matthew Pahnke, said in a statement. “We know athletes will mix and match things.”

Gatorade’s Fast Twitch is officially launching its caffeinated drink in February 2023. But it was reported it will be visible during the upcoming season of football league games as players will already be drinking them on the sidelines as part of Gatorade’s deal with the NFL.