London (UK) Energy Drink Trip 2019

Hunting Before Check-In

Arriving in London at 6 AM, my room wasn’t ready yet, so I dropped off my luggage and went hunting. It was too early to sightsee, so I decided to quickly complete my hunt during this free time.

I’ll be visiting the stores I’ve listed while walking around the city.

First, I stopped by COOP, a familiar supermarket in London.

Here’s the energy drink section. In the middle, there’s the pink Rockstar and First Start.

I actually didn’t see the two flavors of First Start anywhere else. Also, at the back, the eye-catching 2019 summer collaboration cans of GEARS5 seem to be stocked up!

It’s a pleasant surprise to find everything at the first store I entered.

Just like First Start, this store was the only one where I found all three of the collaboration cans.

Rockstar has some unique products in the UK, but its distribution is quite limited, which makes it challenging for short-term travelers. In a way, it doesn’t quite seem like a major brand.

Red Bull Project Pro

Next stop: Tesco Metro, another famous supermarket.

This is the Red Bull collaboration can series, the goal of my UK trip.

All six designs were released in the summer, and now it’s becoming a hot topic among energy drink collectors as "one of the hardest products to complete in recent years."

There are six athletes printed on these cans, but only six varieties exist. However, what’s actually available is:

1. 6 Original Flavors
2. 6 Sugar-Free Flavors
3. 6 Original with Price Tags (e.g., can on the left)
4. 6 Sugar-Free with Price Tags
5. 6 Original in 4-can Packs without Barcodes
6. 6 Sugar-Free in 4-can Packs without Barcodes

That makes a total of 36 varieties.

Even worse, the individual cans in the cases are packed with all the same design, which makes it incredibly difficult for collectors to complete the set. This is no easy mission for even residents of the UK!

Before I left for London, I knew this trip would be a "Mission Impossible." Since my hunting time was limited, it was even harder. I told my friends that each case has only one design, and they were surprised. "This is really tough," they said. (；´∀｀)

But still, I want to complete my hunt! I’m going to gather as many as I can by foot!

Energy drinks aren’t always found in the same places, so I make sure to check every store.

Hmm??

Look, I found a 4-can pack hiding in the corner! Discovering hidden gems is one of the thrills of the hunt! Every time I find something new, it gets my excitement up!

However, since I had so many items already, I decided to leave this for later. But in the end, I missed my chance to buy it Σ(´∀｀；)
I only found 4-can packs in this store and two others. There are 12 varieties of 4-can packs, and it’s tough to complete the collection!

I continue my hunt, checking store after store.

It’s always exciting to find something I haven’t gotten yet! (*´艸｀*)

Even though I haven’t checked into my hotel yet, my luggage is already getting heavier...

It’s only a little after 11 AM, but my luggage is getting too heavy, so I’ll head back to the hotel for now.

Before going back to the hotel, I found a 4-can pack at a store. I didn’t expect to get just this one out of the 12 varieties! I forgot to buy a Sugar-Free pack though Σ(´∀｀；)

Monster Energy in London

Here’s the Mega Monster. I wasn’t sure if I had it yet, so I decided to pick it up just in case. The wing slide is prone to being damaged from the physical pressure in my suitcase, so I always get worried about taking it back home (ヽ´ω`)

There are many small shops in London, besides the chain stores. There are so many that in the Soho area, it’s hard to even remember which stores I’ve been in. This area is full of small blocks, making it easy to lose track.

This shop still had some older collaboration cans available.

Here’s the new Ultra Blue. I already had it, but since the design had changed, I decided to pick it up. I was lucky with the timing! (*´ｪ`*)

The Espresso series, which has been expanding in the EU recently, is also available in the UK. It’s a bit pricey, and the stock is limited. I wonder if people actually buy it… I already have the UK version, so I decided not to buy it this time.

Other Energy Drink Hunts

Relentless has released a new collaboration can, and I love the color combination. I also grabbed the 2018 new flavor, Mango. The 2019 new flavor, Apple, wasn’t available yet. Although Relentless has a decent variety of flavors, it doesn’t seem to be widely stocked.

I moved further away from the center to continue the hunt.

It’s not guaranteed to find something just by going farther, but I love the atmosphere here. Of course, there are plenty of energy drinks stocked just like in the chain stores.

Local shops have a great selection of 250ml size, 49p low-cost energy drinks, which is perfect for energy drink enthusiasts. Some stores had an unusually large selection of Rockstar, but due to time constraints, I had to skip them this time(´・ω・｀)

Since there are no 24-hour stores in London, my hunt had to end around 11 PM. It’s a shame that I can’t do sightseeing during the day and hunt at night, but that’s how it goes here in London (^_^;)

Still, the fact that London has so many stores, from chain stores to independent ones, means there’s always a chance for an exciting discovery. For energy drink enthusiasts, it’s an amazing city full of "finds."