Energy drinks are synonymous with mountain biking. I mean, Red Bull even has its own TV channel. Between those that give you wiiiings (or however they’re spelling it nowadays), Monster, and Rockstar there are plenty of big names in mountain biking on the list of people being sponsored. I think it’s a real positive for the sport – these companies are supporting the development of mountain biking by helping allow riders to be professional.
This review has absolutely nothing to do with those companies, though. This is about FÜD. They’re a little different to the regular energy drink selection. With a totally natural ingredients list, no added sugars or sweetness and about the same amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee (or those other energy drink brands), I thought it was worth a try. As much as I like those little blue and silver cans of energy, I’m always happy to swap and try different things – especially when the offering from FÜD smashes all that artificial stuff out of the offering.
Hoping for a free sample, I sent a message to their Instagram page to see what they were offering. Alas, unlink the proper tight-fisted Yorkshireman I am, I ended up paying for their sample pack from their website to give it a try. Priced at a similar price to others, it didn’t break the bank at all and a few days later these little cans were perched on the kitchen counter ready for a moment of no energy, their pastel colours setting them apart from other orders of products which turned up on the same day.
Honestly, I don’t resent paying for them. At first, I was sceptical. I won’t lie, I thought that if it was any good then it would already be a well known brand around the UK, if not the world. However, that cynical thinking didn’t last long as I cracked open a can before heading to the ‘garage gym’. COVID, right?
The taste is different to regular energy drinks and I guess it’s mostly down to the lack of added sugar. You know when you have a can of Monster and it leaves that sticky feeling on your teeth? Well, this doesn’t do that. It’s fizzy but it’s not so fizzy that you’re also belching out the alphabet whilst putting in the reps. And I like the flavours. The berry, in particular tastes like berries rather than just a sweet mash as other energy drinks.
The low calories will likely appeal to a lot of you (just 7 and 8 in the berry and pineapple respectively). For me though, the simplicity of the ingredients list is most appealing. I’m not a health freak but it’s reassuring to actually know what the things on the back of the can are. There are literally no long chemical names or things I had to Google (except from Guarana which turns out is a bit like a fig).
I suppose the real question is: did you feel more alert? Well, yes. I mean, I think I did. I tried the second can on a day when I’d not had a lot of sleep and seemed to find working from home easier than I had all week. I’m putting it down to Füd.
These guys were on Dragons Den. I think they were offered money but turned it down.
That’s right. I’ve been chatting to them this week actually. Really good folks. They ended up crowd funding and raising the capital that way. Interesting to drink something different though as an energy drink.