Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink

Posted on June 21, 2018 | Last updated February 14, 2025

Review of the Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink, released by the drugstore Matsumoto Kiyoshi.

This energy drink, which doesn’t have any particularly standout features, became a hot topic after going viral on social media. It sold out in stores, with many locations completely out of stock, making it hard to find anywhere! This is the first release in the highly discussed series.

Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink

Manufacturer	Matsukiyo
Country of Origin	Japan
Price	150 JPY
Flavor	Chemicals
Total rating	★★☆☆☆

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.

Gentle and Easy-to-Drink Chemical Flavor

Upon opening, the scent is soda-like, somewhat chemical, with no distinctive or strong fragrance, which was the first impression.

Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink
When poured into a glass, it reveals an intense green color! It's a rich hue, but with a high level of transparency, making it visually appealing. It definitely has the typical energy drink color, doesn't it?

The green color that comes out is unexpected given the orange and black can design, reminding me of Beast Eye, which was released during Japan's energy drink boom.

Now, let’s try it. The first impression is a sour, chemical-flavored taste. It’s almost not sweet and the fragrance is faint, making it quite refreshing. The flavor is completely focused on the chemical profile, with no extra taste. The medicinal taste is not as strong as Rockstar, so it’s relatively easy to drink.

From the color, you might expect a melon soda-like taste, but instead, it has a gentle sourness that doesn’t linger in the mouth. Chemical flavors often leave a medicinal aftertaste, but the Matsukiyo Energy Drink has a subtle fragrance that makes it enjoyable for most people.

For those familiar with chemical flavors, it offers a refreshing and mild impression, but for those who don’t usually drink such flavors, it still carries a noticeable medicinal taste, which makes it perfectly balanced. It's not as intense as Rockstar, so I imagine it will quickly appeal to fans of chemical flavors (*´艸｀*)

Energy Ingredients of Matsukiyo EX STRONG

Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink
It contains 163mg of caffeine, 500mg of arginine, 13mg of isoleucine, 3mg of aspartic acid, and 75mg of carnitine. With a 250ml can, this is among the highest caffeine content in Japan, so it’s best to be cautious not to drink too much.

The viral success of the Matsukiyo Energy Drink on social media was due to its high caffeine content—double that of Red Bull—and its low price. It gained attention with a humorous tone in tweets like "This is the corporate worker's energy drink!" and "Look at this color!" Matsukiyo probably never expected it to become such a topic of conversation.

Later, there was a correction about a mistake in the listed ingredients, and more confusion arose with further corrections. When something spreads so quickly on platforms like Twitter, making corrections can be a bit tricky, right? It’s challenging when errors can’t be fixed as easily as in traditional media.

Similar Japanese energy drinks with caffeine around 160mg include the private brand Seiyu’s Omakase Energy Drink, the now rarely seen Pancrase Energy Drink, and personally my favorite Explosion. All of these have strong caffeine content, so be cautious not to overindulge.

If you'd like to check the caffeine content of other energy drinks, take a look at the Energy Drink Caffeine Ranking review.

Can Design of Matsukiyo EX STRONG

Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink
The diagonal orange and black design seems to be inspired by Red Bull, featuring a simple yet stylish design with white text that stands out beautifully.

The can clearly states "Energy Drink" and prominently lists key energy ingredients, making it easy to understand. The back of the can doesn’t have any unnecessary messages, just the essential product information, making it a clean and straightforward private brand product.

Although it might be challenging to create many different flavors for a private brand, I think a simple design like this would make it easy to introduce a variety of colors. I'd love to see a whole range of colorful Matsukiyo Energy Drink cans lined up!

Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink
I don’t think it’s necessary to get too creative with the tab color, but a black tab could tighten the design, or an orange tab might add a vibrant touch.

400ml Bottle Can Released

On July 11, 2022, Matsukiyo EX STRONG Energy Drink launched in a 400ml bottle can.

With the introduction of the ZONe Energy Drink series, large-capacity cans became the standard in Japan, and now Matsukiyo's private brand energy drink is also available in this large bottle format. The can features a lid that allows you to reseal it, but I think it's best to store it in the fridge because drinking it warm, especially with the chemical flavor, would be tough, and it wouldn't taste good if the carbonation escapes while it's in your bag.

The energy ingredients in the 400ml bottle can include 170mg of caffeine, 540mg of arginine, 14mg of isoleucine, 3mg of aspartic acid, and 80mg of carnitine, and the price is 180 yen. If you're choosing based on energy ingredients alone, the 250ml can offers much better cost performance.