Starbucks on Tuesday launched a drink at stores nationwide called Iced Energy, which has up to 205 milligrams of caffeine in it — about the same amount as six cans of Coke. The fruity energy drink debuts less than two months after bakery-cafe chain Panera Bread announced it was discontinuing its controversial Charged Lemonade, a beverage that lawsuits blamed for two deaths and referred to as a “dangerous energy drink.
“You’re just seeing that desire for functional beverages taking hold in a lot of different beverage segments,” said Brian Warrener, director of the Center for Beverage Education & Innovation at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, adding that nonalcoholic “mocktail” elixirs is another area of enormous growth within functional beverages. “Consumers believe that there is some benefit.” Starbucks’ new drink comes amid a slew of similar options elsewhere.