Rockstar (stylized as ROCKST★R or ЯR) is an energy drink created in 2001, which, , has a 0.3% market share of the US non-alcoholic beverage market. Rockstar is based in

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet in the town and village of Harrison, in Westchester County, New York, United States. One myth explains that its name is derived from Harrison's purchase, where John Harrison was to be granted as much land as he could ride in ...

. , Rockstar Energy Drink was available in more than 20 flavors and in more than 30 countries. In March 2020,

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

announced it had agreed to acquire Rockstar for $3.85 billion.

History

Founded in 2001 by Russ Weiner,''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'
Rockstar, Inc.
/ref> the son of right-wing radio show host

Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is a far-right author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Na ...

. Rockstar launched into what was the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. beverage market at the time, energy drinks. In addition to featuring different ingredients, which it claimed were "scientifically formulated to speed the recovery time of those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles—from athletes to rock stars," Rockstar sought to differentiate itself from the market leader,

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

, by using a 16 oz can size as opposed to Red Bull's 8 oz can, and by marketing itself as "twice the size of Red Bull for the same price"Day, Sherri (4 April 2004
"Business; Energy Drinks Charm the Young and Caffeinated"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' By 2007, Rockstar was one of the top three energy drink brands in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, with a 155% growth in sales in 2004, reaching $48 million" ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' and had sold over a billion cans. It had 14% of the US energy drink market in 2008,''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

'', 20 February 2009
PepsiCo sees $650 million in snacks for women
/ref> and as of 2009 was available in over 20 countries, . Among those countries are Sold: in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Mexico, Malta, New Zealand, Argentina, the Netherlands, Finland, Morocco and Colombia. in addition to the United States. Rockstar switched distributors from

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

in the summer of 2009. Production and distribution for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

was franchised to Irn Bru owners

A.G. Barr A.G. Barr plc, commonly known as Barr's, is a soft drink manufacturer based in Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is widely known for manufacturing the drink Irn-Bru. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Ind ...

until 2027, though this was terminated in 2020 following the PepsiCo acquisition. In 2020, PepsiCo acquired Rockstar Energy for $3.85 billion.

Boycott

Members of the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community have supported a boycott because the company's founder and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

is the son of right-wing radio personality

and because its former

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

, Janet Weiner, is Savage's wife and CFO of his production company.''Edge'', 11 June 2009
Should You Boycott Rockstar?
/ref>gaywired.com, 4 June 2009
Rockstar Demands Retraction from Gaywired
The boycott was motivated by allegations that Savage had made homophobic, racist, antisemitic, and discriminatory comments.''Alternet'', 10 June 2009
AlterNet Takes on Shock Jock Michael Savage and Gets Threatened With a Lawsuit
/ref> In May 2009, San Francisco mayor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

returned a $25,000 donation which Rockstar had made to his 2010 re-election campaign. During an interview with the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', Newsom aide Eric Jaye stated the money was returned because "there was some statements made during (Weiner's) 1998 campaign in the GOP primary which conflicted with the mayor's position and we're returning the check," he said. In a later interview Weiner told ''

SF Gate The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'': "I still wish Gavin well. I always will." But he said that with the donation rejected, "I'm taking this money and I'm donating it to charity. We're telling them to name a charity of their choosing, and if they don't want it, we'll donate it to

Project Open Hand Project Open Hand is a California nonprofit organization that provides medically tailored meals and groceries to elderly and homebound people in San Francisco and Alameda County, California, Alameda County. Founded in 1985 to deliver meals to peop ...

." Janet Weiner stepped down from her role as CFO of Savage Productions "as an apparent statement of solidarity with equality advocates" which had not been requested as part of the agreement. Rockstar, saying that the "truthaboutrockstarenergydrink.com" domain name was registered and used in bad faith, obtained control of that site under a decision from the

National Arbitration Forum Forum, formerly known as the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) is an American organization that provides arbitration and mediation services to businesses, based at its Minneapolis headquarters and offices in New Jersey. The organization was founde ...

Rockstar products in the US have two levels of

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

content: either 10 mg of caffeine per ounce, or 15 mg of caffeine per ounce. Rockstar Energy Drink Original contains 160 mg of caffeine per 16 ounce can, while the Rockstar Punched and Pure Zero energy drinks contain 240 mg of caffeine per 16 ounce can. Besides caffeine and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, Rockstar Energy Drink contains a variety of herbs, including

panax ginseng ''Panax ginseng'', ginseng, also known as Asian ginseng, Chinese ginseng, or Korean ginseng, is a species of plant whose root is the original source of ginseng. It is a perennial plant that grows in the mountains of East Asia. Names ''Panax gi ...

ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossils ...

milk thistle ''Silybum marianum'' is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (thou ...

extract, and

guarana Guaraná ( from the Portuguese ''guaraná'' ), ''Paullinia cupana'', syns. ''P. crysan, P. sorbilis'') is a climbing plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has large leaves and cl ...

seed. The amount of guarana used to be higher, but "after being criticized for including guarana once health concerns about the herb were publicized, the amount in the drink was significantly reduced".legalzoom.com
The Story behind Rock Star Energy Drink
It also includes 1000 mg of

taurine Taurine (), or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic compound that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine, and accounts for up to 0.1% of total human body weight. It ...

Side effects

Rockstar can cause jitteriness and

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

. Sugar may be present, which could cause high

blood sugar Glycaemia, also known as blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, or blood glucose level is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood of humans or other animals. Approximately 4 grams of glucose, a simple sugar, is present in the blo ...

levels. If mixed with alcohol, it may also mask the level of

alcohol intoxication Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main p ...

. There are no known side effects if used in moderation. Several alcoholic versions of Rockstar are available in Canada; an alcoholic version in the US was discontinued in 2007, possibly in response to criticism that young people were confusing the alcoholic version with the regular one. Rockstar Original was named Worst Energy Drink by ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

'' magazine for having 280 calories due to 67.5 grams of sugar.

Monster Energy Monster Energy is an energy drink that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. As of March 2019, Monster Energy had a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull ...

Lo-Carb, with 20 calories, was suggested as a replacement. Rockstar has introduced a line of low calorie energy drinks that include electrolytes called Rockstar Recovery, partially in response to these concerns.

Sponsorship

Like its competitors

and

, Rockstar sponsors a range of action sports and music events, including the

Mayhem Festival The Mayhem Festival was a touring Heavy metal music, heavy metal festival that took place during the summer. The inaugural season took place in 2008; the festival later became an annual event across the United States. Most years also included a ...

, a

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

and rock festival touring the United States in July and August; the

Uproar Festival The Uproar Festival, also called the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival, was an annual hard rock and heavy metal tour inaugurated in 2010 by John Reese and sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drink. The tour was also created by John Oakes, Darryl E ...

, a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

festival touring the United States in September and October; and the

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, also known as LOORRS, was a short course off-road racing series in the United States and also in Mexico beginning in 2015. The series featured events in Arizona, California, Nevada, Missouri and hosted a weeken ...

. Both the Mayhem and Uproar events were discontinued in 2015. Rockstar also sponsors a large number of action sports competitors, such as the Husqvarna factory motorcycle riders

Gautier Paulin Gautier Paulin (born 26 March 1990) is a French former professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 2008 until 2020. Paulin was a member of the French team that won five consecutive Motocross des Nations ev ...

Graham Jarvis Graham Powley Jarvis (August 25, 1930 – April 16, 2003) was a Canadian character actor in American films and television from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Early years Jarvis was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Margaret Biddulph (Scratche ...

and Pablo Quintanilla, motorcycle road racer

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ). After winning the 2006 a ...

(2011-2012), flat track rider Bryan Smith, rallycross drivers

Tanner Foust Tanner Foust (born June 13, 1973) is an American professional racing driver, stunt driver, and television host. He competes in rally, drift, ice racing, time attack, hill climb and rallycross with multiple podium placements, national championshi ...

and

Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing. In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One since ...

, off-road truck driver

Rob MacCachren Rob MacCachren (born March 24, 1965) is an American off-road racer from Las Vegas, Nevada. MacCachren won over 200 off-road races including five editions of the Baja 1000. He raced the Mickey Thompson Stadium Series early in his career and ...

, and drifters

Fredric Aasbø Fredric Aasbø (born 18 August 1985) is a professional drifter and stunt driver originally from Ski, Norway. He now competes in the Formula Drift Championship. In 2015, and recently in 2021, he became the Formula Drift World Champion. He also hol ...

and

Ryan Tuerck Ryan Tuerck (born April 10, 1985) is an American professional drifter from Derry, New Hampshire who currently competes in the U.S. Formula Drift series in his Toyota Corolla Hatchback for Rain-X and Nitto Tire. Formula Drift Biography Rya ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockstar (Drink) Companies based in Spring Valley, Nevada Energy drinks Food and drink introduced in 2001 2020 mergers and acquisitions PepsiCo soft drinks