Does Rip It Energy Drink Really Work?

If you’re familiar with Shasta or Faygo, you might suspect that Rip It would be a generic brand looking for its share of the energy drink market. And you’d be correct. They are trying to grab those customers that don’t feel like paying a premium just to get a shot of energy into their system. So how does it compare in taste and value to the big boys?

Overview
Energy drinks are surging in popularity across the globe and more and more brands are entering the market. The Rip It brand is interesting because it is manufactured by National Beverage, which tries to compete with the big soda brands Coke and Pepsi with its various products. It basically threw its hat into the ring and said “me too”. Fifteen different flavors later they seem to be treading water in a volatile industry.

The Claim
They say that it is real energy for real people at a real value. This is definitely something that will resonate with consumers that don’t want to pay twice as much for essentially the same product. Other than that, their claims are rather understated, they don’t go to great lengths to oversell their product, and basically have copied the structure of other popular brands.

The Hype
The entire energy drink market is pure hype, because they are basically selling consumers toxins that make the body have a physiological reaction that is mislabeled as energy. Rip It doesn’t hype itself up any more than its competitors do, and apart from some risque advertising and cleverly named drinks, it is pretty tame as far as hype goes.

The Cost
This is where Rip It hopes to compete. By offering a can for about half the price of the market leaders, their goal is to attract the market segment that doesn’t feel like getting price gouged. The very fact that they are able to sell their drink at this price and make a tidy profit shows that companies like Red Bull, Monster, or Rockstar are profiting from huge mark ups.

The Taste

So if it has the same ingredients as the other energy drinks you can buy, what about the taste? Because if it tastes the same, and provides the same energy burst, why pay more for the other brands? The consensus is that is just tastes so-so. Nothing to write home about. It tastes good enough for the price, and provides enough kick to make it worth the buck or so you’ll pay for it.

Evaluation
The concept is solid, and one that would normally have it’s competitors shaking in their boots, but the delivery is a little off. By taking the low road in regards to price, they really put themselves in a great position. There’s really nothing to lose. People aren’t going to fault you too much for not getting the taste 100% right. For $1 they know what they’re getting into, so expectations are set low. If it tastes better than they thought it would, they might buy it again, and it doesn’t they still might buy it again on price alone.

They got it right by offering so many different flavors, and this is simply a matter of following the lead of brands like Monster and Rockstar. The more flavors and varieties you produce, the better your chance of attracting more of the market.

3-Way – Perhaps their most risque name.

A’tomic Pom – Pomegranate flavor with a kick.

Citrus X , Citrus X sugar-free – A blend of fruit flavors, plus the same Rip It Energy drink recipe

Code Blue – one variety of their 2 oz shots.

F-Bomb, F-Bomb sugar-free – The F is for fruit.

G-Force, G-Force sugar-free – The G is for grape. Hopefully they use the same grape flavoring as they do in Faygo Grape pop. Yum!

Lime Wrecker – Margarita flavored energy drink.

Le-MOAN’R – Lemon flavored.

Power, Power sugar-free – A crisper taste than the original.

Red Zone – Maybe a reference to Red Bull.

Sting-Er Mo – More of everything you’d want in an energy drink.

Final Rip It Energy Drink Review

If you’re

fed up with paying to much for your energy drinks, you can stick it to the man and get yourself a Rip It. You’ll get the same punch from the same ingredients, but you might suffer a little on taste. At the end of the day an energy drink is an energy drink, so knock it back, get the rush, and get on with your day – all with a little extra cash in your pocket.

Our Recommendation
We give Rip It our seal of approval because it exposes the energy drink industry for what it is, a giant sham. By showing people just how little the ingredients cost that goes into these products, and showing that a company can turn a profit with such low retail prices, they are basically shedding the light on Red Bull et al being total rip offs. Buy Rip It instead of the overpriced brands if you simply must have an energy drink.

What do you think? Does Rip It Energy Drink work or not?