Course:FNH200/Assignments/2026/RedBull EnergyDrink

Introduction

This page is for GROUP 25 from FNH 200 942 (Summer T2 2026). Our team members are as follows:

• Joshua Hart
• Ahaana Mitra
• Julian Renzetti
• Leah Song
• Tyler Tran

Briefly introduce your food products (Optional)

As the rise of energy drinks dominates the beverage market amongst young adults, it's no surprise that energy drink companies have closely followed health and wellness trends to compete in the broader market. In relation to recent content covered in FNH 200, reduced or sugar-free options have increased significantly, giving us a perfect opportunity to explore for this assignment.

Red Bull launched their original energy drink in 1987, but it wasn't until 2003 that their first sugar-free alternative was released under the variant name, "Sugarfree". This assignment aims to compare both the original and sugar-free options along with their nutritional facts, ingredients, and overall differences in product make-up that make each an appealing choice for select consumers.

Post pictures (Mandatory)

Attached below are images of the two products with the ingredient list and supplemented food facts. Click each image to take a closer look.

Red Bull Original

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  Image of Red Bull Original
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  Image of Red Bull Original ingredient list
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  Image of Red Bull Original supplemented food facts

Red Bull Sugarfree

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  Image of Red Bull Sugarfree
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  Image of Red Bull Sugarfree ingredient list
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  Image of Red Bull Sugarfree supplemented food facts

Ingredient lists (4 points)

Type out the lists of ingredients:

Original	Sugarfree
Carbonated water, sugars (sugar, glucose-fructose), citric acid, tourine, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, caffeine, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), calcium D-pantothenate, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), artificial flavour, caramel, riboflavin.	Carbonated water, citric acid, tourine, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, caffeine, sucralose, xanthan gum, niacinamide, acesulfame-potassium, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), calcium D-pantothenate, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), artificial flavour, caramel, riboflavin.

(Bolded ingredients specify its uniqueness to its alternative)

Identify fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used, if there is any.

No fat substitutes are present in either product, since energy drinks do not contain fat to begin with. Sugar substitutes appear only in the Sugarfree version like sucralose and acesulfame-potassium. Additives common to both cans include citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, caramel, artificial flavour, and the B-vitamin fortificants (niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, calcium D-pantothenate, cyanocobalamin, riboflavin). Xanthan gum is only present in the Sugarfree version.

Explain the roles of fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used in terms of the functional properties they contribute to the product.

Red Bull Original uses sugar and glucose-fructose as its primary sweetening agents. These provide the drink's sweetness while also contributing to its viscosity, giving the original its slightly heavier mouthfeel compared to a diet beverage.

Red Bull Sugarfree uses a combination of sucralose and acesulfame-potassium because each has a mild bitter or metallic aftertaste on its own. Together they cancel out these off-notes and produce a sweetness closer to sugar. Xanthan gum addresses the loss of viscosity that occurs when sugar is removed. As a thickening agent, it makes sure the sugar-free product does not taste thin or watery compared to the original. Citric acid provides tartness and lowers pH. Sodium bicarbonate and magnesium carbonate offset this acidity, preventing the drink from tasting overly sour and keeping the pH stable between batches. Caramel is added purely for colour and gives both products their amber tone. The B-vitamins (niacinamide, B6, B12, pantothenate, riboflavin) do not affect taste or texture but they support the product's "energy" claims through their role in metabolism rather than any functional or sensory property. Caffeine is the primary stimulant responsible for the alertness effect, and taurine is commonly included alongside it in energy drink formulations.

Compare and contrast the lists of the two products and explain differences.

The primary difference between original and sugar-free Red Bull lies in how food scientists replace both the sweetness and physical texture of real sugar. In the original version, energy is derived from a heavy blend of sugar and glucose-fructose, which naturally thickens the liquid. When creating the sugar-free alternative, scientists swap these out for sucralose and acesulfame-potassium. These two zero-calorie artificial sweeteners are commonly blended together in commercial beverages because they mask each other's individual bitter or metallic aftertastes. Tricking our taste receptors into perceiving a classic and sucrose-like flavour without the accompanying calories.

However, removing real sugar also removes physical weight, which can leave a diet drink feeling thin and watery to consumers. To replicate the original "mouthfeel," scientists add xanthan gum; a natural stabilizer and thickener. Xanthan gum alters the liquid's flow behaviour and resting thickness to mimic the density of the original version. This ensures the drink still feels premium on the tongue instead of thin and watery. Beyond this texture-and-sweetener swap, the foundational energy formula remains the same, relying on the mixture of caffeine, taurine, and metabolism-supporting B vitamins.

Labels (1 points)

Provide detailed description of the information found on the labels.

Labelling Type	Description
Bilingual labelling	Present everywhere on both cans
Common name of the food	Included on front of the cans - "Energy drink"
Country of Origin	Has origin country of parent company and importer on the back of can - Red Bull GmbH in Austria, importer in Toronto
Date marking	Best before date is listed on the bottom of the can (not pictured). This is explained on the back of the can, as can be seen in the pictures.
Storage instructions	None
Identity and Principal Place of Business	Parent company and importer listed on the back of the can along with their place of business
Irradiated foods	Not applicable
Legibility and location	All text is easily legible and mandatory text is where a consumer would expect it to be (e.g. ingredients, nutritional facts)
List of ingredients	List of ingredients is present and is comprehensive. Very specific compounds are mentioned by name and there are minimal broad terms used
Nutrition Facts	Present on the back of the can in the standard format that is expected. Note that this table is actually titled "Supplemented food facts", since energy drinks are technically classified as health supplements.
Net Quantity	250 ml for both cans
Sweeteners	Sugar free sweeteners: Sucralose and Acesulfame-potassium Original sweeteners: sugar, glucose-fructose
Other mandatory information	Mandatory high caffeine warning included on both cans under ingredient list

Indicate whether the information complies with the regulatory requirements as outlined in Lesson 04.

Overall the information on both cans appears to comply with all the regulatory requirements in lesson 4. There are a few interesting things to note on the label:

• The main logo (Red Bull - Energy Drink) doesn't have bilingual text. This is likely ok, because the smaller product description below has the product name in both languages.
• The can has origin country of parent company and importer, but not country of origin of the product. Further research revealed that energy drinks are considered health supplements and are exempt from country of origin labelling.
• Storage instructions are missing - this is likely because it will not expire no matter how it is stored, so these are unnecessary.
• We noted the high caffeine warning which is a legal requirement, the specific amount of caffeine can be found under the nutrition facts label.

Personal Choice (5 points)

Please submit your individual component of this assignment on Canvas to protect your privacy and your personal opinion.

References

(Use the Wiki citation procedure - at the end of your sentence, select "Cite" from the top editing toolbox bar and fill in the information. It will leave a subscript and automatically place your citation on the reference list below.)

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.