A complete explanation of the difference between energy drinks and nutritional drinks by a real maniac (for Japan and Asia)

Posted on June 12, 2014 | Last updated February 17, 2025

Energy Drinks Are Soft Drinks, Nutritional Drinks Are Quasi-Drugs

Differences Between Energy Drinks and Nutritional Drinks
To briefly explain, the current difference between energy drinks and nutritional drinks in Japan is as follows:

Energy Drinks... Soft Drinks
Nutritional Drinks... Quasi-Drugs

Energy drinks, which are included in soft drinks, are considered food products. Since they are food, they cannot claim any effects.

Nutritional drinks are quasi-drugs, and while they are drinks, they are not classified as "food." Quasi-drugs can claim effects, but the condition for being a quasi-drug is that there are no risks of side effects.

Therefore, energy drinks are considered just juice and are deemed to have no risks, while nutritional drinks, which are quasi-drugs, can claim effects but must ensure there are no risks of side effects. Both are considered to be products without risks.

Difference in the Presence of Taurine

If taurine is included, it is classified as a quasi-drug. Most energy drinks in Japan avoid becoming quasi-drugs by not including taurine.

Why Energy Drinks Stick to Being Soft Drinks

For quasi-drugs, there are more complicated rules, procedures, and approvals required for production and sale compared to soft drinks, making it more cumbersome, but it also allows for the marketing of a product with a certain level of reliability by claiming effects.

On the other hand, since soft drinks are food, they cannot claim effects, but the process to sell them is less complicated. Also, for energy drinks, claiming effects doesn’t necessarily lead to higher sales, so there’s no need to unnecessarily stick to being a quasi-drug. (The reason why products with more caffeine than Red Bull come out but quickly disappear is due to this.)

Hardcore Enthusiast Explains! Energy Drinks Have No Effects!

Up until this point, we have explained the differences between nutritional drinks and energy drinks in Japan in terms of classification as quasi-drugs and soft drinks.

As an energy drink enthusiast, I will now dive deeper into explaining the differences between nutritional drinks and energy drinks.

Author information Author: Energy Drink-kun

In 2001, while living in the United States, I encountered energy drinks through the dance scene and was deeply impressed. After returning to Japan, I found that energy drinks were considered novelty beverages, so I established a comprehensive website in 2013 to share the true appeal of energy drinks. As an energy drink enthusiast, I began drinking them seriously again, collecting over 7,000 varieties of energy drinks from various countries. I am also active as a critic and expert, receiving media interviews.

Differences in Drinking Situations

Differences Between Energy Drinks and Nutritional Drinks
This is the image many people likely have in mind:

Energy Drinks... Push further into a positive state, enjoy the taste
Nutritional Drinks... Recover from a negative state to above positive, boost energy, recover stamina/fatigue

Nutritional drinks are consumed when you're tired, when you need to push through something still ahead, or when you're feeling under the weather, to bring you back from a negative to a positive state.

On the other hand, energy drinks are consumed in already active situations, to enhance enjoyment, or sometimes just for the taste as a juice, and the drinking occasions are completely different from nutritional drinks.

Unique Image of Energy Drinks in Japan

However, the image of energy drinks in Japan is often that of "the overseas version of nutritional drinks," so many people might drink them as substitutes for nutritional drinks.

Energy drinks only contain sugar, the caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee, small amounts of vitamins, and trace amino acids, so unfortunately, they don’t have an effect on improving health when you're unwell.

Japanese Energy Drink Manufacturers Also Had the Image of Nutritional Drinks

During the 2014 energy drink boom, many new energy drink products were released. The taste and product concepts were all quite similar, with many advertisements saying things like "for when you need to push yourself" or "for when you need to hold on," so the idea was more about creating products with the mindset of nutritional drinks, which were then marketed according to trends.

In fact, many of the follow-up products that were released in a rush at that time are no longer available today. The manufacturers likely only understood the difference between energy drinks and nutritional drinks as "the difference between a food product and a quasi-drug," and didn’t see the full scope.

Is the Difference Between Bottles for Nutritional Drinks and Cans for Energy Drinks?

I once saw an article online saying "the difference between nutritional drinks and energy drinks is that one comes in a bottle and the other in a can" (；´∀｀)

In reality, there is the Monster Energy M3, which is bottled and was released in the U.S. and Japan. I suspect that this "difference" was just added to stretch the explanation with the "bottle vs can" idea.

Though generally unknown to most people, there were several bottled Monster Energy products released in the U.S. and Sweden in the past, and the V energy drink, which holds the No. 1 share in Australia and New Zealand, still releases bottled products in large quantities.

So, speaking about the difference between nutritional drinks and energy drinks based on the container is incorrect.