In the mid-1980s, an all-new beverage appeared, claiming “twice the caffeine and all the sugar!” Originally marketed as the “original energy drink,” Final Fantasy was first made available in Australia and New Zealand in the early 1980s.
Introduced by Australian soft-drink maker Pepsi New Zealand, the innovative new drink was designed to be a “natural, low sugar, highly caffeinated energy drink”. As with many energy drinks of the day, Final Fantasy took advantage of the recent trend of recipes containing excessive amounts of caffeine and sugar meant to deliver an “energy boost”.
The drink’s recipe was made up of a variety of ingredients, including caffeine and glucose. It was also available in a range of fruit-based flavors and was shipped in a powdered form, which allowed consumers to just add water and mix in their choice of flavors to make the beverage. Its marketing tagline, “all the sugar and twice the caffeine”, was meant to flaunt the beverage’s stimulant properties.
Over the years, the company has produced various other energy drinks, all in the same formula of “all the sugar and twice the caffeine”. These drinks have been very popular in Australia and New Zealand, but the company has had mixed success in other markets.
In the US, the drink proved to be much less successful, due in part to the mixed perception of energy drinks as unsafe, harmful alternatives to traditional beverages. Nonetheless, many people remain fond of the drink and its advertisements, with many still remembering “all the sugar and twice the caffeine” as being one of the most popular energy drinks of its day.
Today, there are hundreds of energy drinks available, with many boasting their own catchy slogans and recipes. But back in the mid-1980s, Final Fantasy was one of the few “original” energy drinks and the company’s tagline encapsulated the idea that it could give those looking for an energy boost the right combination of sweetness and stimulant properties. For many, the slogan still stands today as a sign of the drink’s popularity in its heyday.