Energy Drinks (Carbonated & Still, Regular and Sugar-Free, 250 ml and 500 ml Cans)

Caffeine and taurine energy drinks in 250 ml and 500 ml cans, regular and sugar-free, labelled for the destination's caffeine rules

An energy drink is a soft drink built on caffeine, usually with taurine, glucuronolactone, inositol and B vitamins, and the classification follows the carbonation: US Customs rulings classify carbonated energy drinks under HS 2202.10 with carbonated soft drinks, while still energy drinks fall under HS 2202.99 with other non-alcoholic beverages. The packs are the 250 ml slim can and the 500 ml can, in trays of cans. Caffeine is the regulated ingredient. In the EU, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires drinks other than those based on coffee or tea with more than 150 mg of caffeine per litre to carry "High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women" in the same field of vision as the name, followed by the caffeine content in mg per 100 ml. Germany has set national limits for energy drinks of 320 mg/l caffeine, 4,000 mg/l taurine, 200 mg/l inositol and 2,400 mg/l glucuronolactone. In the UAE, the technical regulation issued in 2010 caps caffeine at 32 mg and taurine at 400 mg per 100 g and requires a warning that the drink is not for pregnant women, nursing mothers or children under sixteen, and the Gulf technical regulation GSO 1926:2009 covers the handling of energy drinks. In Saudi Arabia, the 2014 Cabinet decision bans energy drink advertising and free promotional distribution, bars sale in government, education and health facilities, sports clubs and gyms, and requires the warning in Arabic and English, and the importer registers the product with the SFDA before it is imported. Energy drinks carry an excise of 100% of the retail price in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and that rate stayed when sweetened drinks moved to a sugar-based tax on 1 January 2026. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2202.10, which includes carbonated energy drinks, total USD 15.06 billion, led by Austria USD 1.91 billion, the Netherlands USD 1.31 billion, Germany USD 1.29 billion, Thailand USD 824 million and Poland USD 700 million; HS 2202.99 adds USD 13.64 billion, led by Germany USD 1.58 billion, the Netherlands USD 1.09 billion, the USA USD 894 million and Thailand USD 839 million. Neither code separates energy drinks, so those are subheading totals, not offers.

The buyer is an importer-distributor, a wholesaler or convenience chain, a supermarket private-label desk or a duty-free operator. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers energy drinks from canners in Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Malaysia and the USA, in the producer's own brand or the buyer's private label. Branded energy drinks are among the most diverted and counterfeited drinks, and a US International Trade Commission general exclusion order has barred unauthorised imports of one energy drink brand, so third-party brands come only from the brand owner or its authorised distributors. Each lot carries the producer's certificate of analysis for caffeine, taurine, sugar and microbiology, the origin authority's health certificate, a certificate of origin and a halal certificate from a body the destination accepts, which reviews flavourings, their ethanol carriers against GSO 2538 limits, colours and the source of taurine and vitamins. EU-bound drinks use only additives on the Union list of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, labels carry the destination's caffeine warning and Arabic text for the Gulf under GSO 9, and trays move palletised in 20-ft or 40-ft dry containers on EXW, FCA, FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per tray; pallets per container and minimum runs are confirmed per product and pack. Send the formulation, caffeine level, can size, label and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.