The UK has wings: Britain second only to Austria for energy drink sales
The UK has the second highest rate of energy drink sales per head in the world, according to new research out today.
Britain comes second only to Austria, the home of Red Bull, new analysis from the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk (ICCR) found.
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While sales of traditional sugar-sweetened beverages are declining across European countries, energy drink sales have “risen sharply over the past five years, particularly in the UK”.
Between 2010 and 2015, sales of energy drinks in the UK rose 2.2 litres per person per year to 8.3 litres.
This was the biggest increase of any European country apart from Austria, according to the ICCR research.
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More energy drinks are now sold in the UK than almost anywhere else in Europe and 25 per cent more than in the US.
“In just five years, sales of energy drinks have risen by over a third in the UK,” said Jean-Pierre Despres, scientific director of the ICCR, commenting on the study.
“This further increase in sales is very worrying and puts at risk the efforts done in the UK to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.”