How to choose a natural energy drink

How to choose a natural energy drink

Sick of trying to figure out what's true and what the algorithm is just trying to sell you? You're not alone. On a mission to eat and drink as close to nature as you can but feel as though you keep getting tangled up in a marketing web of lies? We get it.  You probably feel like ‘natural’, ‘clean’, ‘low sugar’ gets slapped onto any old packaging nowadays, and like each buzzword is treated as if they all mean the same thing. OQO’s approach is a little different: we don’t do gimmicks, or hide behind a proprietary blend, and we definitely don’t dodge the questions that actually matter.

 

We know, we know… you’ve heard it all before, but we’re about to spill the beans on the law!

“Natural”’ is a legal term in the wellness space, and in the case of this blog, it only covers one ingredient in energy drinks: the flavouring. The caffeine, the sugar, the sweetener and the possible vitamins it might include are all regulated separately and differently. So in order to decide whether an energy drink is natural? We need to deep dive into the ingredients, one at a time.

 Shop the Energy range

So what's actually legally deemed “natural” in a can from OQO’s energy range?

In OQO's energy drinks, the caffeine comes from coffee bean extract and the sugars from fruit juice, while the vitamins are added in standard forms.

Flavourings

Must be at least 95% derived from the named natural source (e.g. real lemon) to use the word "natural" at all.

Caffeine

Sourced from coffee bean extract, a genuine plant origin, in every can, not synthesised. 

Sugar

Comes from real fruit juice concentrate, not added table sugar.

Sweetener

Steviol glycosides are extracted from the stevia leaf. (The law doesn't regulate a "natural" claim for sweeteners the way it does flavourings, but the origin is genuinely botanical.)

Vitamins

Added in standard, commercially-produced forms -  the same practice used across almost every fortified food or drink.

Shilajit, ginseng root extract

Extracted from the named natural source.

L-theanine, taurine

Industry-standard practice is fermentation or synthesis to a nature-identical specification.

A sneak peak at the law and what “natural” actually means … legally!

Under UK and EU law, a flavouring can only be called "natural" if it's 100% derived from natural sources, e.g. ‘natural lemon flavouring’. To make it a legal claim, at least 95% has to come from, well,  lemons - funny that! And that's the only part of the label the word ‘natural’ legally governs. The sweetener, the vitamin form and the caffeine are all regulated separately, which is exactly where the confusion comes from and how folk get away throwing the word natural around. 

So what makes OQO’s Energy drinks actually natural?

It’s all in the formulation …

OQO's Energy range uses coffee bean extract which is genuinely plant-derived. Whilst we admit, natural and synthetic caffeine are the same molecule, and a double-blind crossover trial found caffeine from green coffee bean extract and synthetic USP-standard caffeine are pharmacokinetically equivalent, giving near-identical blood levels and near-identical absorption speed, we just decided if we could keep it natural, we would.

Sugar and calories: low, not zero!

Our Energy Plus range, nor our Sparkling Shilajit range are sugar-free. There! We said it and it’s a bed we’re happy to lie in.  That’s because both energy drinks are formulated using real fruit juice, which brings a small amount of natural sugar with it. Natural being the operative word. 

Energy Plus (Original / Citrus / Blue Raspberry Peach / Fruit Punch) 

  • Calories: 8-10 kcal

  • Sugars: 0.3-1.3g -  from real fruit juice concentrate
 Shop Energy Plus

Shilajit (Pear & Ginger / Red Grape & Raspberry)

  • Calories: 30-32.5 kcal

  • Sugars: 4.8-5.8g - from real fruit juice concentrate
 Shop Sparkling Shilajit

Under UK rules, a drink earns the label ‘low sugar’ at 2.5g or less per 100ml, and ‘low calorie’ (officially called ‘low energy’) at 20 kcal or less per 100ml. Every can in the OQO range clears both bars. Hoorah!  Our Energy Plus drinks come in at just 3-4 kcal and half a gram of sugar per 100ml, and our Sparkling Shilajit range at 12-13 kcal and just under 2.5g. So it's not a case of clean versus sugar-free, it's a case of how light you want it, and both ends of that choice are genuinely low-sugar, low-calorie by the regulated definition, not just because marketing says so. 

Word to the wise, if a big sugar hit tends to leave you flat an hour later, that's not in your head. Our 3pm crash blog explores why blood sugar swings are one of the ringleaders behind the afternoon slump.

Full caffeine, lower caffeine, or Shilajit: which is right for you?

Energy Plus contains 200mg of caffeine per can, while Sparkling Shilajit contains 81mg. OQO’s Energy range runs on natural caffeine from coffee bean extract, and that's exactly the point when a lift is what you're after. But caffeine isn't always the goal, sometimes it's simply about drinking something good for you, minus the buzz. That's where our Gut Health range comes in: Kefir Water, built on organic kefir water culture, in Sparkling Guava or Raspberry Mint; and Fibre Iced Tea, made with chicory root inulin and black tea extract, in Lemon or Peach. Both are naturally caffeine-free from the first can to the last, so they're worth reaching for when hydration, not a caffeine hit, is what you actually need. 

Within our caffeinated range, the real choice is how much, and what else comes with it:

Energy Plus

  • Natural caffeine: 200mg per can, from coffee bean extract

  • Also contains: 10 vitamins & minerals, including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, Vitamin C and magnesium

  • What they do: Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. B vitamins contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism. Vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12 contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Magnesium contributes to electrolyte balance.
 Shop Energy Plus

Shilajit range

  • Natural caffeine: 81mg per can, from coffee bean extract

  • Also contains: A 1,072mg blend of shilajit extract, Korean ginseng root extract, L-theanine and taurine, plus vitamin B12

  • What they do: Vitamin B12 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
 Shop Sparkling Shilajit

Here’s some more of that truth stuff …

Shilajit, ginseng, L-theanine and taurine don't yet carry an authorised GB health claim, whatever the wellness corners of the internet tell you, but that hasn't stopped us digging into the research. Our shilajit deep-dive walks you through what's actually been studied so far, and what's still an open question. What we can say for certain is: a lot of energy drinks list ingredients like these in a proprietary blend with no weight declared at all, so you've no way of knowing if you're getting a real dose or a sprinkle for the label. We declare the full 1,072mg blend weight on the pack so you can see it's a genuine, deliberate amount, not just a name on an ingredients list. 

So, how can you choose an energy drink that you can trust?

Check five things on the label: caffeine per can, sugars, declared amounts, warnings, and what "natural" actually refers to. A drink can look clean and still tell you nothing. 

  • Caffeine, per can, not per 100ml. A high caffeine warning on a 100ml basis looks very different once you realise the can is 250ml -  check the actual serving figure.

  • Sugar, on the nutrition table, not the front of the can. Low calorie and low sugar aren't automatically the same claim -  check the sugars row for yourself.

  • Declared amounts, not decoration. A lightning bolt icon isn't a dose. Look for milligrams and %NRV next to each vitamin, mineral or electrolyte.

  • The warnings, not just the wins. Caffeine content and pregnancy advice should sit clearly near the ingredients - not buried several pages into an FAQ.

  • "Natural" is one data point, not the whole verdict. It tells you something about the flavouring. It doesn't tell you the caffeine dose, the sugar, or whether an ingredient has an authorised claim behind it -  for that, you still have to read the can.

The OQOLife Lowdown

Energy Plus makes sense if you:

  • want a fuller natural caffeine dose -  200mg from coffee bean extract

  • want your 10 vitamins and minerals declared in exact amounts, not a blend

  • want the lowest calorie count in the range -  10 kcal or less per can

  • like knowing exactly which B vitamin is doing what
 Shop Energy Plus

Shilajit range makes sense if you:

  • want a lighter natural caffeine dose -  81mg from coffee bean extract

  • are curious about shilajit, ginseng, L-theanine and taurine, and want the honest version of the science

  • don't mind a bit more natural fruit sugar alongside it
 Shop Sparkling Shilajit

Your Life. Your OQOLife!

Whichever you reach for, it's doing the same job: a natural-caffeine energy drink with a label you can trust. 

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