Energy Drinks Are Coming for the Girls

Why It Matters

Targeting women opens a massive growth channel for energy‑drink makers while raising fresh health‑risk and ethical questions about gendered marketing.

Key Takeaways

• Energy drink makers target women with pastel, slim packaging.
• Female-focused branding aims to capture growing women consumer market.
• Sales at convenience stores rose 10% last year overall.
• Past gendered marketing linked to male consumption and sleep issues.
• New ads promote “hot, thin, energetic” female ideals.

Summary

The Atlantic’s Ellen Kushing reports a decisive pivot in the energy‑drink industry: manufacturers are redesigning cans and messaging to court female consumers. Past campaigns leaned on camouflage graphics, extreme‑sport sponsorships, and hyper‑masculine slogans, but new packaging is slim, pastel‑hued, and marketed as “elegant” and “gentle.”

Convenience‑store sales jumped 10% last year, signaling broader demand beyond the traditional male base. While the core formulas—taurine, caffeine, and other stimulants—remain unchanged, the visual overhaul aims to tap a demographic that, according to Kushing, has been “tired too.” A 2013 study cited in the piece linked men’s susceptibility to gendered messaging with higher energy‑drink intake and sleep disturbances, underscoring how branding can shape consumption patterns.

Kushing highlights the new tagline aimed at women: “Be hot, be thin, and have all the energy to do it,” echoing the same aspirational pressure once reserved for men. Examples include sleek cans reminiscent of cosmetics and influencer partnerships that frame the drink as a lifestyle accessory rather than a sport supplement.

The shift could unlock significant revenue growth, but it also revives concerns about health impacts and the ethics of gendered marketing. As companies chase a lucrative female market, regulators and public‑health advocates may need to scrutinize product labeling, caffeine content, and the broader cultural messages being sold alongside the beverage.

Original Description

Energy drinks were once marketed to the manliest of young men, Ellen Cushing writes. Now beverage companies have figured out that girls are tired, too—and they’re capitalizing on it.

Energy-drink sales at convenience stores jumped 10 percent last year, and not because what’s inside these beverages is changing. The new interest is largely being driven by female-coded brands; cans are slimmer, and many are pastel and elegant looking. “Energy drinks are saying, ‘be hot, be thin, and have all the energy to do it,’” Cushing argues.

Read more about shifts in the energy-drink market: https://theatln.tc/4rHfhxAG

🎨: The Atlantic; Alexandra Ryabichenko / Getty; Heritage Images / Getty; Dea / G. Nimatallah / De Agostini Editorial / Getty; Universal Images Group / Getty; Catherine McQueen / Getty; Flowerphotos / Universal Images Group; Jean-Francois Fort / Getty; Kevin Carter / Getty Images Sports; Nicolas Guyonnet / Hans Lucas / Getty; Christian Manzoni / Getty; Tim de Waele / Getty; Samo Vidic / Getty; Sylvain Thomas / Getty; Courtesy of APA PsycNet; John Shearer / Getty; Carl Recine / Getty; Picture Alliance / Getty; Stu Forster / Getty Images Sports; Ishara S. Kodikara / Getty.