Want to know all about Emerge Energy Drink from the ingredients right down to the taste?
If you do, then this is the post for you. Join me as I walk you through this comprehensive Emerge Energy Drink review.
If you’re just looking for the bottom line of this drink, I give it a 7 out of 10. But there’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get into it…
What Is Emerge Stimulation Drink?
Dubbed the sixth-largest energy drink brand in the UK, Emerge has certainly made a name for itself. The brand belongs to Cott Corporation, the same company that brought you the Bone Chillin’ energy drink.
The Emerge range of products consists of carbonated mixed-fruit flavored energy drinks which are available in supermarkets and retail stores all across the UK and the US.
What Are The Range Of Products Under The Emerge Energy Drink Brand?
Emerge energy drinks come in four varieties:
- Original
- Reduced Sugar
- Flavored
- Dual
Each variety boasts its own collection of drinks.
Emerge Original
You can call Emerge Original the signature drink for Emerge since it was the first to be launched back in 2004.
This original version of Emerge energy drink features a carbonated mixed fruit-flavored energy drink that contains taurine, caffeine, B Vitamins, sugar, and artificial sweeteners.
And nope, you didn’t read that wrong.
Emerge Original is notoriously sweet, with both complex sugars as well as artificial sweeteners added to the beverage. In fact, the drink has 4.5g of sugar per 100 ml.
In terms of drink sizes, you get to choose between the Original 250ml can which has 52.5 calories, and the Original 1L bottle which has 210 calories.
Emerge Reduced Sugar
Emerge Sugar-Free
You can expect only 10 calories from this 250ml carbonated drink. The usual fare of caffeine, taurine, and B vitamins can be found here, with only natural sugars flavoring the drink.
Artificial sweeteners, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) provide added sweetness to this fruit-flavored beverage.
Emerge Zero Sugar
Emerge Zero Sugar has the same make-up you’d expect from a regular Emerge energy drink, minus the added sugar.
The drink can be purchased in either a 250ml can size (with 7.5 calories) or a 1L bottle (30 calories).
As with Emerge Sugar-Free, Emerge Zero uses artificial sweeteners like aspartame and Ace-K in place of complex sugars.
It tickles my funny bone that a can of Emerge Sugar-Free claims to be a low-calorie beverage. The reality is that this “sugar-free” drink actually has one calorie more than Emerge Zero.
I’m guessing that this might be because Emerge Zero contains what is known as naturally occurring sugar. But Emerge Sugar-Free doesn’t.
Emerge Flavoured
This product range offers you an element of choice for your drink flavor, unlike the other Emerge drinks I mentioned earlier. Thank God for that, at least you won’t be suffering from flavor fatigue.
All Emerge Flavoured drinks contain a modest 4.5g of sugar per can. That’s a pretty low amount compared to most sugar-containing energy drinks. Even so, each can still contain 52.5 calories.
There are two flavors available: Tangy Tropical and Juice Berry.
Emerge Flavoured drinks are only sold in one size at 250ml cans.
Tangy Tropical
Ascorbic acid is what gives this drink its zesty bite.
You’ll also find things like acacia gum, glycerol esters of wood, and rosins included in its list of ingredients.
In terms of color, it comes from the riboflavin and carotene that are part of the mix.
Juicy Berry
This variant contains fruit and vegetable concentrate, namely safflower and black carrot.
Meanwhile, its color comes from riboflavin, similar to every other Emerge energy drink.
Emerge Dual
Last but not least, we have the Emerge Dual product range, with three distinct options: Emerge Dual, Emerge Mixed Berry Dual, and Emerge Dual Sugar-Free.
Emerge Dual
Emerge Dual is an enhanced formula of Emerge Original, but with lower calories at 37.5 kcal in a 250ml drink. Every can contain 3g of sugar plus an undisclosed dose of artificial sweeteners like aspartame and ace-K.
If you want a larger serving to last you a few days or more, you might want to pick up the 1L bottle which has 150 calories.
Emerge Mixed Berry Dual
This version of Emerge Dual has 37.5 calories per serving and offers a mixed berry flavour to enjoy.
Emerge Dual Sugar-Free
And for the lot that fancies the sugar-free versions of Emerge Dual, here’s one with only 4 calories per 250ml can.
What Are The Ingredients Of Emerge Energy Drink?
A 250ml can of Emerge Original energy drink contains:
- 53 calories
- 75mg caffeine (Pretty ideal, in my opinion)
- 0g protein
- 0g total fat
- 0g saturated fatty acids
- 11.2g total carbohydrate
- 11.2g total sugar
- 0g protein
- 0.09g salt
Each can also contain trace amounts of:
- Carbonated water
- Sugar
- Citric acid
- Taurine (0.3%)
- Sodium citrate
- Flavoring
- Caffeine (0.03%)
- Ammonia caramel (coloring)
- Riboflavin (coloring)
- Sodium benzoate (preservative)
- Sucralose (sweetener)
- Acesulfame K (sweetener)
- Niacin
- Pantothenic acid
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B12
- Inositol
What Vitamins Are In Emerge Energy Drink?
You’ll find this written at the back of the can that each drink contains at least 25% of these B Vitamin DRI’s (Dietary Reference Intake).
The relevant vitamins being referred to here are vitamins B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), and B12 (cobalamin).
It’s crucial that we get our recommended daily dosage of B vitamins in our diet. So having these vitamins included in the Emerge energy drink certainly helps.
But how do we know what the DRI is?
Below is the recommended daily intake for B Vitamins according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
| Vitamin | Women | Men |
| B3 | 14mg | 16mg |
| B5* | 5mg | 5mg |
| B6 | 1.3mg | 1.3mg |
| B12 | 2.4mcg | 2.4mcg |
*No RDI; Adequate intake/ AI provided
Bear in mind that these figures apply to normal, healthy adults and you may need to take into account other personal factors in order to see how this applies to you.
This means considering things like your age, dietary choices, whether you’re pregnant or not, any existing medical conditions you might have, your genetics, any medication you might be on, and your alcohol consumption patterns.
Having these B vitamin supplements included in your Emerge energy drink is useful since it helps with many of the key functions in your body such as:
- Reducing stress and improving your mood
- Preventing anxiety and depression
- Growth of red blood cells
- Reducing tiredness and fatigue
- Improving eyesight
- Promoting healthy brain function
- Improving digestion
- Maintaining a healthy appetite
- Protecting cardiovascular health
- Building muscles and increasing strength
However, you shouldn’t just be consuming Emerge in large quantities just because you want to benefit from its supplementary vitamin content.
Excessive vitamin intake can also cause problems.
Unnecessary amounts of vitamin B3 might lead to side effects like vomiting, high sugar levels, skin flushing, and liver damage. Extremely high doses of vitamin B6 can cause nerve damage, light sensitivity, and painful skin lesions.
Now, that’s the total opposite of what these supplements should be doing for you in the first place.
But don’t let what I’m saying alarm you too much. B vitamins are water-soluble, so in the event, that you did ingest a little more than what your body actually needs, it would probably just get excreted in your urine.
Overall, you might want to think about how necessary it really is to get vitamins from an energy drink like Emerge since you’d very likely already be getting lots of vitamins from the other food you’re eating, assuming you have a balanced diet.
Does Emerge Energy Drink Work?
In my opinion, Emerge Energy drink works great, but only for a limited period of time.
From my personal experience, I’ve come to notice that caffeine in itself isn’t the ultimate source of energy.
You can only have so much caffeine before you start to experience some side effects or even long-term hazards to your health.
To be on the safe side, it’s best that we follow the guidelines given by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which states that we should only have a maximum of 400mg of caffeine in a day, and only 200mg of caffeine in each serving.
In fact, it’s only when you combine your caffeine intake with other stimulating ingredients at the right doses that you get a really great energy boost
Examples of stimulating ingredients are taurine, guarana extract, quinine, B vitamins, and ginseng.
Emerge doesn’t do too badly as a stimulating beverage in this sense since it does contain several such ingredients.
Is There Sufficient Taurine In Emerge Energy Drink?
There’s 750mg of Taurine in each can of Emergy Energy Drink.
Stay with me here as we indulge in a little maths…
We know a can of Emerge is 250ml in total. On the label, it says that the caffeine content is 30mg per 100ml, which would make it 75mg per can.
We can also see on the label that caffeine is 0.03% of the ingredients, whereas Taurine is 0.3%.
Therefore, the amount of Taurine inside a can of Emerge is 10 times greater than the amount of caffeine. If there is 75mg of caffeine, then there must be 750mg of Taurine.
It would have been a little easier if they just printed that number on the can, don’t you think?
What taurine is supposed to do is help improve your athletic performance. When combined with caffeine, it might even help to stimulate your mental capabilities too.
There are some energy drinks in the market that skip these ingredients entirely and I think that’s far worse than making the amount that is included a bit confusing to figure out.
How Much Caffeine Is There In A Can Of Emerge?
There’s 75mg of caffeine in a 250ml can of Emerge Original energy drink.
According to EFSA, we should limit our caffeine intake to a maximum of 400mg a day. The best practice would also be to consume only 200mg of caffeine in each drink serving.
With only 75mg of caffeine in a can of Emerge Original, this leaves you with plenty of room to even drink a few cans per day if you wish.
Anyway, this lower dose of caffeine per serving that you find in Emerge is really a good thing, no matter how you look at it.
I feel this is especially so since many other energy drinks out there tend to pack so much caffeine into each serving that you sometimes can’t even drink anything more than a can or two a day without the risk of exceeding your daily caffeine limit.
Having just 75mg of caffeine in a can also make this energy drink a great option for those who have a lower caffeine tolerance yet don’t want to miss out on an energy booster from time to time.
Regardless of how many servings of Emerge you wish to have and how often you plan to drink them, just remember to always stick to what’s recommended by EFSA and you should be fine.
Is There Too Much Sugar In An Emerge Energy Drink?
On average, Emerge energy drinks contain between 8g to 12g of sugar in each 250ml serving.
In some ways, you might say that it’s really not that much sugar since Red Bull contains more than double that amount in a can that’s the same size.
And don’t get me started on Rockstar or Monster now.
According to the National Health Service (NHS), we shouldn’t be having more than 30g of free sugars in a day. When we say “free sugars”, we’re talking about the hidden sugar that you find in your food as well as the sugar you add to your cooking or drinks (such as that teaspoonful of sugar you add to your daily cuppa).
Based on these guidelines, you’d be able to safely drink up to two 250ml cans of Emerge and still remain within your daily sugar limit.
But, of course, you’d need to remember to take into account all other sources of sugar in your diet as well.
One thing that I wasn’t too happy about was the lack of information on the types of sugar found in Emerge energy drinks.
Sure, it’s not required by law to disclose certain details about your ingredients, but it might be helpful for some who are keeping a close watch on their diet.
It’s important to monitor our sugar consumption so that we don’t experience any of these potential health hazards:
- Weight gain
- Heart disease
- Severe acne
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cancer
- Depression
- Skin aging
- Extreme fatigue
- Liver and kidney disease
- Dental cavities
- Gout
- Dementia
Of course, you can easily avoid all those health risks by making sure you only drink Emerge in moderation.
Alternatively, you can skip the entire headache of having to watch your sugar intake or count your calories by opting for the sugar-free versions of Emerge instead: Emerge Sugar-Free, Emerge Zero Sugar, or Emerge Sugar-Free Dual.
What Sweeteners Are Used In Emerge Energy Drink?
Here’s where things really get interesting (or unsettling, for some) with Emerge.
Emerge energy drinks that already contain sugar in them also contain additional artificial sweeteners like aspartame and Ace-K.
The FDA says that ace-K is around 200 times sweeter than sugar.
That makes for a really sweet drink if you have so many of these sweeteners combined into one energy drink.
I mean, it’s totally fine for sugar-free versions of energy drinks to have these artificial sweeteners as replacements for sugar itself. But, I really don’t see why we need to have both sugar and artificial sweeteners in an Emerge energy drink at the same time.
Just to give you some background info, aspartame, and ace-K are both non-nutritive sweeteners that are widely approved by many food authorities across the globe including the FDA and EFSA. In fact, you’ll find them used in many of the processed foods and drinks that you buy from the store every day.
Although it’s deemed safe for you to consume these artificial sweeteners, you’d still want to be careful with how much of them you consume since there may be some consequences in the long run.
Examples of health problems you might encounter include:
- Higher risk for obesity
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Learning problems
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Migraine
- Insomnia
- Seizures
- Irritability
What Does Emerge Energy Drink Taste Like?
If I can sum up the taste of Emerge energy drink in one word, I would say it’s scrummy.
I must add here that it has this whiff of a classic Red Bull too, although I’m not sure if that was the effect that Emerge was going for.
At first sip, I found Emerge a little fizzy and a whole lot fruity. Then, a moment later, the sweetness struck me. If you’re not one for sweet stuff, this drink might not be to your liking.
However, I appreciate the fact that the drink had a crisp finish and left me with a clean palate and no aftertaste.
As a whole, my vote goes to the sugar-free versions of Emerge though. For example, Emerge Dual Sugar-Free. These beverages didn’t pack as much sweetness (compared to the regular ones with sugar like Emerge Original) so that might be a better alternative for your taste buds and your health too.
Emerge Energy Drink: Final Roundup
I personally give Emerge a solid 7/10. That’s not bad for an energy drink, actually.
(I only gave Monster 6/10. Just so you have an idea what my average ratings are like.)
Emerge deserves some brownie points for its wide range of products. There’s pretty much something for everyone. And that means more options for all its fans.
Though I’m not fond of how sweet some of the drinks are, I must say.
But at least there are sugar-free versions of Emerge around to save the day.
As for the energy boost that Emerge gives you, I felt it was pretty decent and worked well for me. The caffeine concentration was fine by me too. However, the sugar crash that I had afterwards was not a good thing.
Priced at around 50p per can, Emerge is good value for money and certainly cheaper than a lot of the alternatives on the market.
Where Can I Buy Emerge Energy Drink From And How Much Is It?
You can find Emerge energy drinks at most retail stores throughout the UK. This includes supermarkets and stores like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Home Bargains, Poundland, B&M Stores, and so on.
If you prefer making your purchase online, there are also plenty of virtual stores that have Emerge in stock. For example, Amazon, eBay, Star Bargain, and many more. Most of the popular supermarket chains have an online presence and you may be able to order Emerge from their respective websites too.
And don’t fret if you’re residing somewhere outside of the UK. There are online stores like the British Corner Shop that you can count on to source for your Emerge energy drink fix.
On average, you should be able to get a 250ml can of Emerge Original for around 50p, although prices do vary.
Alternatives To Emerge Energy Drink
For similar ready-to-drink options that are similar to Emerge energy drink, you can check out these options:
Here are some other quick and easy energizers:
Powder-based energy drinks are a splendid alternative too. Here are some brands you can look out for:
- G fuel
- Zipfizz
- Advocare Spark
- REIZE (highly recommended)
REIZE
A sachet of REIZE energy drink powder is the most convenient option ever when it comes to energizing yourself while on the go.
Besides taking up less space in your bag and saving your shoulders the extra weight to bear, REIZE can be mixed with any beverage of your choosing.
Not only that, you can even determine the potency you prefer for your energy drink by adjusting the volume of liquid you mix your REIZE energy powder with.
Each 4g REIZE sachet makes a 250ml energy drink that contains 50mg of caffeine alongside a stimulating blend of ingredients that includes 1000mg of taurine, ginseng, and a healthy dose of B Vitamins.
There are only 11 calories per serving in this sugar-free energy drink.
You’ll only be paying around $1 per sachet including shipping costs, which I think is really a steal.
Try REIZE today and see for yourself why I think it’s better than Emerge. I really wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes your new all-time favorite energy drink.