5 hour energy drinks marketed to Senior Citizens

[Guest guest]

On a Sunday morning at the Costco in Raleigh, N.C., Ron Moerbe filled his

shopping cart with all the things a self-described aging, hearing-challenged

diabetic might need: some amplifying earphones, organic cucumbers and a case

of 5-Hour Energy shots.

The 65-year-old salesman says he drinks up to three a day to stay alert when

he's on the road. He scoffs at the idea that he might be too old for the

stuff. " I'm reverse discriminate, " he says. " I don't see why kids need 'em. "

Energy shots—pocket-sized bottles with names like 6 Hour Power, Nitro2Go and

ZipFizz that are packed with caffeine, stimulants and blends of vitamins and

herbs—claim to keep those who drink them amped up for hours. Their makers

pitch them as a youthful tonic when coffee just isn't enough. " You know what

2:30 in the afternoon feels like, right? " a young fan asks on a late-night

TV ad for 5-hour Energy.

Some teens down the shots to focus and stay awake while studying. For

truckers, the two-ounce serving size means fewer pit stops.

Now, the shots are appealing to a growing number of people over 60 who

aren't ready to slow down with age. At the Raleigh Costco, cases of energy

shots are stacked beside Ensure nutrition shakes and across from tubes of

wrinkle cream.

Living Essentials of Farmington Hills, Mich., which makes 5-Hour Energy,

initially built sales by targeting students and people who work long hours,

like cops. But when CEO Manoj Bhargava heard that aging Baby Boomers were

increasingly buying energy shots, he looked to them for the company's next

sales jolt.

Last October, the company handed out thousands of samples at the annual AARP

convention in Orlando. " It was amazing to see the number of people who took

it right there and then, " says Mr. Bhargava, who staffed the booth.

In January, 5-Hour began running full-page ads in the AARP Bulletin, which

is delivered to 22 million households. The ad shows Ratzenberger, best

known as postman Cliff Clavin on " Cheers, " holding a bicycle. " Getting older

is fine, " says the 64-year-old Mr. Ratzenberger. " But not having the energy

to do the things I enjoy isn't. "

5-Hour sales teams call on doctors, giving them coupons to pass out to older

patients. Staffers tells physicians that 5-Hour's main ingredients appear

naturally in foods and include niacin, often prescribed to lower

cholesterol, and citicoline, used in some countries to fight dementia.

5-Hour Energy created the energy shot trend seven years ago and dominates

the market, with a nearly 80% share, according to trade publication Beverage

Digest. Annual sales of 5-Hour Energy total about $1 billion.

Mr. Bhargava says he isn't worried about the brand losing its cachet with

young people, since it has always had " cheesy commercials " and a

" not-very-cool name. "

NVE Pharmaceuticals, the market's second-biggest player with a 5% share, is

also reaching out to older adults by advertising on the Learning Channel and

the Discovery Channel instead of just MTV and Comedy Central.

NVE's marketing chief, Finocchio, says her 74-year-old mother has

Crohn's disease, which can limit vitamin absorption, and takes NVE's 6 Hour

Power shot every day after lunch.

Sold as dietary supplements, energy shots don't require Food and Drug

Administration approval. Jerry Seinfeld jokes on his stand-up tour that the

$3 bottles of 5-hour are " meth-lab Hawaiian Punch Jell-O shots. " A study in

the journal Pediatrics in February warned that consumption of too many

energy drinks can give children heart palpitations, seizures and other

problems.

AARP says its health consultants vetted 5-Hour before allowing the company

to advertise at its convention and in its publications. AARP refuses ads for

controversial products such as reverse mortgages and tobacco, but found

nothing worrisome about 5-hour Energy, says AARP group publisher Jim

Fishman.

The shots are big sellers at pro shops like the one at Fendrich Golf Course

in ville, Ind. " Golf is in your head, " says Bill Osborne, a 66-year-old

retired teacher who works in the shop and downs one before his games. " If

you feel like you're feeling better, you got a much better chance of getting

through. "

Energy-shot makers generally don't confirm the precise amount of caffeine in

their shots, but a recent ConsumerLab.com review found a 5-Hour shot has 207

milligrams of caffeine, while a tall-sized Starbucks coffee has about 260

milligrams. Consumer Reports said the caffeine would likely provide a lift

but there was " little if any research " showing the other ingredients would

help.

Geriatrician C. Granieri says she's a skeptic. Most adults get more

than enough of the B vitamins and other nutrients found in energy shots, so

any extras are just excreted from the body, she says. " Medically and

physiologically, it doesn't hold water, " says Dr. Granieri, chief of

geriatric medicine and aging at Columbia University College of Physicians

and Surgeons.

Colin Milner, founder of the International Council on Active Aging, says the

key to having more energy as an older adult is to eat right and to exercise,

not to down some magic elixir.

As far as the energy shots are concerned, " They give you a big caffeine rush

and away you go, " he says.

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tml?KEYWORDS=5+hour>

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Ortiz, MS, RD

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