Sydney, Energy Drink Journey 2019

Shock! My Favorite Store Closed...

A shocking event happened during my long-awaited trip back to Sydney... During my sightseeing, I visited various stores to check out the new products, but this time, V Energy Drink released such a terrible lineup of new products that I thought I could just grab everything at one store.

So, after having dinner, I went for a walk to the store with the best selection in central Sydney and...

It was closed Σ(´∀｀；) You might not get the full picture from this photo of the dark, closed store, but it was a place where you could find just about anything. I even debated whether to stay at a hotel near here or near the harbor this time around, lol.

I was confident I could find dozens of types here, but my plans were dashed, so I started my walking hunt all the way to the hotel from here!

VCHAT2019 Starts

In 2019, V Energy Drink's #VCHAT campaign kicked off. As part of this, limited-edition products featuring not just the "V" logo but also letters from A to Z printed on cans and bottles were released.

The idea is to collect the alphabetic cans and make words out of them, then post them on social media. There were similar campaigns in the past, and the 2019 version started around the same time as my trip to Australia. I really love how V Energy Drink always comes up with these lighthearted, fan-friendly campaigns!

The original, sugar-free, zero, blue, and sugar-free tropical variants come in 250ml, 275ml, and 500ml sizes, all featuring the #VCHAT design, and there’s also one bottle type for each variant. There's no other energy drink brand in the world doing this (^_^;)

Even though the #VCHAT campaign had been running for weeks by the time I got there, some stores still only had the regular "V" on the shelves.

Anyway, time to head to a supermarket where I can find good deals!

The familiar Coles.

The 250ml original. It's got a solid "W" on it.

And even the 275ml with 10% extra volume has the alphabet design. It's amazing that they did the campaign for all sizes, cans and bottles alike! But it’s quite a task to buy everything (；´∀｀)

Red Bull New Flavors Everywhere

I actually booked my flight to Sydney only five days before the trip, so I ended up being in perfect timing with the release of the limited-edition Red Bull cans.

They were available in 4-can packs, so I secured both the original and sugar-free versions. You don’t often see pack products at convenience stores, so it’s best to head to the supermarket.

The supermarket has shopping carts, so it’s easier to shop. Later, I also found 10-can packs of Red Bull Original, so I bought those too.

Plus, a new Red Bull flavor—Acai—had arrived in Australia. The purple color is beautiful (●´ω｀●) It feels like the selection is finally catching up with Europe.

The weather was a bit unstable, and it started raining on and off.

It wasn’t constant rain, but bad weather can make sightseeing and hunting a bit tough (´・ω・｀)

Rockstar New Flavors, Too Fast to Disappear!

Rockstar’s local Australian series "Start Fresh" debuted a new flavor, Island Fruit.

The Beach Blend, which was released six months ago, was already gone, replaced by this one. That was pretty fast! I personally thought Beach Blend tasted better, so I’d love to see it return.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture, but the Ex-Durance flavor has also gone big. The Rockstar scene in Australia is always changing, and things that were once big stars quickly fade away. Every visit feels fresh.

This is another store with a great selection of energy drinks. The prices are high, but they have unique items that you can’t find elsewhere.

This time, though, the selection didn’t meet expectations. There were some options, but I ended up passing on them.

Monster Energy’s Quiet Period

I mostly just picked up some SKUs. There wasn’t much movement with Monster Energy.

During my previous Sydney trip, Pipeline Punch wasn’t available, but I finally found it this time, so I grabbed that. There’s always a time lag depending on the region before certain products are available.

The AB Zero, which had been reverted to its old design for a while, has now returned to the latest design, and the SKU has been updated. I had confirmed that, but I was so focused on V Energy Drink that I forgot to pick it up (；´∀｀)

I mostly did my hunting at night. I’d go out, drop off my finds at the hotel, and then go for another walk... I think I did that about twice.

I stayed near the Opera House, so I wandered around the area. I wasn’t able to complete the #VCHAT collection, but I had a great time in Sydney, and I hope to grab the remaining cans next time if I have the chance (●´ω｀●)