To explain my dad in a simple sentence, I’d say this: He will buy anything as long as it’s on sale at Costco.
That was how I came into possession of the first energy drink that my parents had voluntarily purchased: ZOA Energy. Previously, my parents had always turned up their noses at any battery acid of an energy drink my sister or I purchased, from Monster to Red Bull.
Needless to say, I was intrigued by the case of energy drinks that were branded as being a cleaner and natural alternative to the average caffeinated drink.
The first thing that I took note of was that the drinks that were included in the case from Costco were the sugar-free wild orange, tropical punch, and white peach flavors. Despite their supposed health benefits, I tend not to like sugar-free energy drinks as much because of the artificial taste and possible carcinogenic substitutes.
To be truthful, I was initially skeptical about ZOA. I like what I like, which at the time was exclusively Monster Energy. However, once I took my first sip, I became so deeply infatuated with ZOA that I now drink it almost exclusively and daily.
The wild orange and tropical punch flavors are tied for first in my book. Although citrus flavors tend to be my favorite across the board, the sweet and unique tang of the tropical flavor was a switch-up I enjoyed. Predictably, the orange flavor was a familiar friend to my senses and followed suit within the can of ZOA.
The white peach, which fell short in comparison to the other two, was still a pleasant taste. It was on the sweeter side and didn’t burst with peach aroma, but it still avoided the sickening artificial sugar taste, putting a simple smile on my taste buds.
In fact, all three flavors had nothing but a faint note of artificial sweeteners. Although this could be due to a variety of reasons, part of the success may lie in the fact that ZOA is an entirely natural drink packed with Vitamin C and Vitamin B.
ZOA uses camu camu, green tea, and green coffee extract for its flavor and source of caffeine. Speaking of caffeine, the zero sugar ZOA has 160 mg of caffeine—enough to keep me energized for hours, but not so much that I experience a caffeine overload. And, through these natural ingredients, the drink tasted cleaner and more natural than the energy drinks I was accustomed to.
Despite all of these positive attributes, ZOA seems to have remained largely underhyped. Competitors such as Alani Nu and Celsius have pushed it down so far, but I am putting my trust in the founder of the company—Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Whether this is misguided and naïve or not, having a well-loved and unproblematic celebrity as the founder since 2020 makes me that much more confident that ZOA isn’t turning my insides to sludge like other drinks on the market.
Due to the aforementioned reasons, I’ve found little success when trying to stray from ZOA and have selected this brand as my energy drink of choice. My dad is certainly pleased—buying ZOA in bulk from Costco is certainly cheaper than the individual Monster can.
