An international investigation by multiple news organizations has documented how Red Bull, the world’s largest energy drink company, funded academic research over more than a decade to counter proposed restrictions on its products. The company paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to university professors to conduct studies favorable to the energy drink industry and arranged for researchers with financial ties to Red Bull to meet with government officials considering regulations.
The investigation analyzed more than 100 studies on health and behavioral risks associated with mixing energy drinks and alcohol. Of studies funded by Red Bull or conducted by researchers with financial conflicts of interest with the company, 95% concluded that mixing alcohol with energy drinks did not increase health risks. By contrast, approximately 80% of independent studies reached the opposite conclusion. This disparity has shaped regulatory decisions globally, including in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
A pivotal 2015 report by the European Food Safety Authority, which serves as the scientific adviser on food issues for the European Union, cited Red Bull-funded studies in concluding there was no clear evidence that mixing energy drinks and alcohol was harmful. That report has remained influential internationally and was subsequently used to prevent regulatory action in multiple countries. When Health Canada proposed making a permanent warning label about mixing alcohol with energy drinks in 2021, the beverage industry cited Red Bull-funded research in objecting. Health Canada subsequently reversed course, dropping the warning label entirely, citing the European report among other factors.
Alcohol researchers have raised concerns about the methodology of several Red Bull-funded studies. One study by a Dutch researcher defined alcohol mixed with energy drinks as only those consumed within two hours of an energy drink, a timeframe shorter than the five to six-hour half-life of caffeine. Boston University researchers withdrew from a Red Bull-funded collaboration after the Dutch researcher refused to address what they believed were methodological flaws that would bias results. The European Food Safety Authority’s report did not disclose the funding sources of the studies it cited.
The investigation also examined the case of Zachary Mitchell, a 21-year-old who drowned in Quebec in 2016 after consuming several cans of Red Bull and approximately six beers. A coroner determined Mitchell’s death was likely due to an arrhythmia triggered by the combination of energy drinks and physical exercise. The coroner’s report called for an advertising campaign targeting young people about the risks of energy drinks mixed with alcohol. Red Bull and the academics it funded did not respond to detailed questions about the investigation’s findings.
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